Camp Club Girls Get a Clue!

by Renae Brumbaugh

  “Good question, and yes. Each day, the team with the most points earned on the previous day will be first in all meal lines. Teams will receive daily points for attitude and for the cleanest rooms.”

  This announcement was followed by an enthusiastic buzz from the campers. First at mealtime—now that was worth competing for.

  Miss Rebecca smiled as she gave the girls time to absorb the information. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s begin our Bible Explorers class! We’ll memorize a lot of scripture in the next two weeks. Let’s start with a game….”

  Elizabeth settled back in her seat and smiled. She was good at scripture memory. This class was right up her alley.

  McKenzie and Sydney stood with the other girls by the stable door, listening to the counselor talk about basic horsemanship. The horses all seemed gentle and trustworthy, unlike some of the stallions back at McKenzie’s ranch in White Sulphur Springs.

  “During your time here, you will learn basic horse care and riding techniques. These horses are used to young ladies and are calm, so you don’t need to be afraid of them. However, they are very large animals, so you need to be gentle with them as well.”

  Sydney elbowed McKenzie. The auburn-haired girl looked at her new friend and saw her motioning to a large oak tree at the edge of the paddock. In the shade of the tree was the grouchy man from the golf course talking to the older man Elizabeth had pointed out earlier in the day. From the abrupt gestures of the grouchy man, Sydney guessed he wasn’t too happy.

  The girls watched and strained to hear the words, but it was no use. The men were too far away, and the counselor’s words drowned out any chance of eavesdropping.

  They continued to observe the exchange. The older man— Mr. Anzer—put his arm around the Grouch’s shoulders, and the Grouch seemed to calm a bit. The two then walked away, continuing their conversation as they moved toward the offices at the east end of the stables.

  Kate had signed up for the nature studies class right away. In her concrete world of Philadelphia, she didn’t get much exposure to the rugged outdoors. The closest thing she had back home was the well-groomed city park or the beautiful college campus where her dad taught. She had been excited to learn about various trees and flowers and wildlife. She had even brought her cell phone so she could take pictures.

  But now she could only think of the muddy black-and-white puppy asleep on her bed. He likes me, she thought. I’ve never had a dog. I wonder if Mom and Dad would let me keep him.

  “That’s about it for today, girls. As you’re walking around the camp, remember to pay attention to the shapes of the leaves you see. Try to identify the ones we talked about.”

  Kate jerked to attention. Had she really daydreamed the whole class away? Staring at her blank phone screen, she wondered how the hour could have passed so quickly. She couldn’t remember a single thing the counselor had said.

  Snapping her phone closed, she remembered Elizabeth’s request to meet back at the cabin. Immediately after class. Besides, she was eager to check on Biscuit.

  Slipping the small phone into her pocket, she ran as fast as she could, nearly crashing into Bailey and Alex as she reached the crossroad that led to their cabin.

  “Whoa, Kate! Slow down! At that rate, you’ll have a major collision!” Alex laughed.

  Kate caught her balance and smiled. “Sorry! I just can’t wait to get back to the cabin. Biscuit was asleep when we left him, and I…” She was interrupted by a low, mournful howl.

  The three girls looked at each other and exclaimed, “Biscuit!”

  They ran to cabin 12B in record time. Bursting through the door, they stopped short at the sight before them.

  The dirty, round-eyed puppy sat in the center of the room, tail wagging with excitement. A pair of green shorts hung off his back, and he held a dirty sock in his mouth. Undergarments, nightgowns, and T-shirts were scattered from one end of the room to the other.

  “Oh, Biscuit. What have you done?” Kate scooped up the puppy and he licked her face. “Hey, stop that!” She laughed and held him out of face range. “I don’t mind the kisses, but we’ve gotta do something about your breath!”

  “Uh, girls…we’d better clean up this mess. The counselors are coming before lunch to check our rooms!” said Alex.

  “But first…” Bailey dug through her pockets. “Look what we made for Biscuit!” She pulled out a colorful ribbon-braided rope and attached it around the dog’s neck. “Alex and I worked on it in class. Now he has a collar!”

  “Perfect!” exclaimed Kate. Alex and Bailey looked pleased.

  “What in the…world?” The girls turned as Elizabeth stepped into the room. “Oh my.” The older girl just stood, taking in every detail of the disastrous room. “Oh my, oh my.”

  Sydney and McKenzie lingered after class, pretending to admire the horses. “Do you think we should go find out what they’re talking about?”

  “I think we should at least see if the Grouch has an office over here or something,” Sydney urged.

  “That older man he was talking to, Mr. Anzer, seemed nice. Elizabeth seemed to really like him. Surely he’s not like…” McKenzie paused. “No, it looked more like he was trying to calm the Grouch down, didn’t it?”

  The two girls walked toward the office area, pausing to look at the horses when a counselor passed.

  “I want to ride the bay over there,” exclaimed McKenzie.

  “I think I’ll stick with the pony,” replied Sydney.

  When the coast was clear, the girls continued to the east end of the building, pausing outside an open window. Hearing voices inside, they grew still, straining to hear the conversation.

  “I’m telling you, Dan, you can’t post a KEEP OUT sign at the golf course. It may be old, but the kids still love it. You can’t keep them from playing a few rounds of miniature golf if they want to.”

  “But William, I’m trying to get my work done. I can’t make the repairs if a bunch of little girls are running around everywhere.”

  This was followed by a long pause.

  Finally, Mr. Anzer spoke again. “Just do what you can while the girls are in their classes. I’ll see if I can come help you.”

  “No! That won’t be necessary!” Dan spoke up quickly. “I’ll just figure out a way to make it work.”

  The two girls looked at each other, wide-eyed, but didn’t move. Suddenly, the man they now knew as Dan burst through the door and nearly barreled over them. He stopped, clearly surprised to see the sleuths, and opened his mouth as if to speak.

  McKenzie spoke first. “Pardon us, sir! We didn’t mean to get in your way. We were just headed back to our cabin. You have a very nice day, sir! Umm…good-bye!”

  The two girls dashed toward the cabins.

  As soon as they were out of earshot, Sydney spoke up. “Whew. That was close. I wonder if he knows we were listening.”

  “I don’t know. I just can’t figure out why he doesn’t want anyone at the golf course. I mean, this is a kids’ camp,” McKenzie responded.

  Sydney’s voice rose. “Yeah. Of course kids will be running around—that’s kind of the point. If it weren’t for us, he wouldn’t have a job here in the first place!”

  “Shhhhh. We don’t want the whole camp to know. Something tells me that the Grouch doesn’t care much about his job. He doesn’t keep the golf course tidy. He must have some other reason why he doesn’t want anybody down there,” McKenzie told her friend.

  “I think you’re right. Let’s go tell the others what we heard.”

  The girls jogged back to the cabin, where they found the others making piles of clothing. “What in the world? What are you all doing with my shorts? And my headband? And my…” Sydney’s bewildered gaze landed on the innocent-looking puppy sitting at Kate’s feet. “Biscuit! What did you do?”

  The puppy answered her with a bark and a wag of his tail.

  The young detectives sat in a circle on the floor examining the wrinkled piece o
f paper.

  Dan Ger.

  “Why is it written that way? You know, with a space in between, and the D and the G capitalized?” asked Bailey.

  “I think the way it’s written must be a clue of some sort. Maybe the space in the middle means we are in the middle of danger!” Sydney added.

  The girls passed around the small paper, trying to find further clues. Elizabeth held the paper up to the light. “This looks like envelope paper. If you hold it up, it has a pattern, kind of like the business envelopes my parents use.”

  Alex reached for the paper. “May I see that?” Then, holding it up, she said, “Elizabeth is right! This may be…Hey! Maybe Dan is someone’s name!”

  McKenzie and Sydney began talking at once. “I can’t believe we haven’t told you yet!”

  “We got so caught up in cleaning up Biscuit’s mess that we forgot to tell you what happened!”

  The other four sat up straight, all ears, listening to the two girls tell what they knew.

  “So…” Alex stood, still holding the paper. “We know that the Grouch’s name is Dan, so maybe this paper belongs to him. Elizabeth, can you find out Dan’s last name?”

  “Sure. I’ll go talk to Mr. Anzer. I’ve been meaning to visit with him, anyway.”

  “Great!” Alex continued. “Kate, what else do you have in that bag of yours? Surely you have some kind of gadget to help us get to the bottom of this.”

  Kate sprang into action, going through her treasures and evaluating each one for its possible mystery-solving potential.

  “Here’s my robot spy-cam.” Kate held up what looked like a remote-control four-wheeler. “We can hide and make this baby go wherever we want. The only problem is, the sound isn’t that great. So we can watch what happens, but we might not be able to hear it.”

  “What about the tiny recorder you brought?” asked Sydney.

  “I’ve tried that. It will work, sort of. But it’s hard to get the recorder to play at the same time the video plays. So you end up watching something happen while listening to the thing that happened a minute or two before, and it gets confusing.”

  Elizabeth laughed. “Sort of like watching a foreign film with the words at the bottom of the screen! I can never keep up with those movies.”

  Alex seemed a natural fit for the role of lead detective, and the other girls listened to her instructions. “Okay, here’s what we’ll do. Elizabeth, you and McKenzie go back to the stables. See what more you can find about this Dan fellow. The rest of you come with me. Kate, bring the robot.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” said Elizabeth. “Let’s go!”

  Kate quickly put Biscuit into her oversize backpack and zipped it, leaving a small air hole.

  Just then, Miss Rebecca poked her head around the door. “Hi, girls! I’m Miss Rebecca—oh, hi, Elizabeth! Good to see you! I’m the counselor for cabin 12. My room’s at the end of the hall, in case you need anything.”

  “Thanks!” the girls replied, trying not to look guilty.

  Miss Rebecca stood looking at the group. “Umm… okay then. Don’t forget that now is your Discovery Time. For the next half hour, find a quiet place and study today’s Bible lesson.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” said the angelic-looking group. Biscuit whimpered, and Bailey began sneezing to cover the sound while Kate used her foot to gently push the wiggling backpack under her bed. The counselor stepped into the room and looked around with a suspicious gaze.

  Discovery Time

  Bailey sneezed several more times.

  “Bless you,” Miss Rebecca said. She lingered a few moments, looking each camper directly in the eye. Then, with one last look around the room, she said, “Remember, I’m right at the end of the hall!” With a smile and a wave, she was gone.

  “Whew! That was close!” exclaimed McKenzie as she closed the door.

  Once again, Alex took charge. “Okay, you heard her! It’s discovery time. And we have a lot of discovering to do….”

  “Wait! Before we go, let’s read our Discovery Scripture. That way we can talk about it while we’re walking. Then we’ll be doing what we’re supposed to be doing,” Elizabeth said as she grabbed her Bible. “Today’s verse talks about wisdom. Hmm…let me find it…. Here it is! Proverbs 2:4–5 says, ‘If you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.’ ”

  “That’s perfect!” Alex exclaimed. “We are going on a treasure hunt to find clues, which will give us wisdom and knowledge about what is going on around here!”

  The group laughed at Alex’s enthusiasm. Elizabeth smiled at the girl as she put her Bible away. “Or something like that…” She chuckled. “Just remember, if any camp counselors ask what you’re doing, talk about that verse.”

  “Okay, let’s go!” The group split up, with McKenzie and Elizabeth headed toward the stables and the others toward the golf course. Biscuit poked his head out of Kate’s backpack and enjoyed the ride.

  As they approached the golf course for the second time that day, the girls walked cautiously and stayed in the shadows of the trees lining the road. Sure enough, Dan the Grouch was digging away.

  “Why is he digging?” whispered Alex. “It looks like he’s trying to find something.”

  “He should be trying to clean up, not making a bigger mess,” added Sydney.

  “Here. I brought my robot-cam. Maybe we can get a closer look,” said Kate, setting down her backpack. Biscuit, glad to be free, began sniffing around the trees. The other three watched as Kate pulled out the small remote-control gadget. “I have it set to deliver the images to my phone, so we can watch from here. I’ll drive, and you all can hold the phone.”

  “Okay, but be careful. We don’t want Grouchy Dan to catch us. I’ve been yelled at enough for one day. He scares me,” added Bailey.

  The girls crouched at the edge of the golf course, hidden behind an overgrown bush. Kate held the remote, flipped the On switch, and pressed buttons. Slowly the car moved forward.

  The other girls started whispering, giving Kate directions.

  “To the left!”

  “No, to the right!”

  “All we can see is dirt and leaves!”

  “Hold it!” Kate whispered with a hint of frustration. “One person at a time, please. Sydney, you direct me.”

  The other girls remained quiet, and the only sound was Sydney’s soft whisper, “Left. Now forward. A little to the right…”

  Finally she whispered, “Stop! That’s perfect. We can see him. What is he looking for? He shovels then stops and digs with his hands then shovels some more. What does he think he’s going to find?”

  “Maybe he’s looking for electrical wires or water pipes or something,” said Kate.

  “It looks like he’s…he’s…he’s moving.”

  “Where did he go?” The girls didn’t look up until it was too late. An angry-looking Mr. Dan glowered at them. “I thought I told you girls to stay away from here! Aren’t you supposed to be somewhere right now?”

  The girls sat frozen, not knowing how to respond. Finally Bailey, remembering the Bible verse, spoke up in her sweetest voice. “We’re searching for treasure, sir.”

  Elizabeth and McKenzie approached the stables, stopping to admire the horses. “That one reminds me of Sahara, my horse back home. I can’t wait until I can ride the trails here,” McKenzie said.

  “I’ve always wanted horses,” Elizabeth responded. “I look forward to coming here every summer just so I can ride.”

  “I thought everyone in Texas had horses!” said McKenzie with a laugh.

  The girls continued around the stables, heading toward the office area. “This is where Sydney and I overheard the two men talking. The Grouch, or whatever his name is, seemed determined to keep people away from the golf course.”

  “Well, I don’t know anything about him, but I know Mr. Anzer has a heart of gold. He would never let anything bad happen here at D
iscovery Lake,” said Elizabeth.

  “Did I hear my name?” Mr. Anzer asked as he walked around the corner. “Oh, hello, Elizabeth! Who is your friend?”

  “Hi, Mr. Anzer!” said Elizabeth with a smile. “This is McKenzie. She’s one of my roommates, and she has her own horse!”

  “Is that right?” asked Mr. Anzer. “Well, feel free to hang out at the stables while you’re here. We can always use an extra stable hand!”

  McKenzie laughed, and Mr. Anzer motioned the two girls to join him on a long, low bench.

  “Mr. Anzer”—Elizabeth looked at the gray-haired gentleman—“McKenzie and I wanted to ask you something. This morning we got in trouble by one of the staff members for being at the golf course. We didn’t think we were doing anything wrong. Have the rules changed? Are we not allowed at the golf course anymore?”

  Mr. Anzer looked concerned. He leaned back against the rough wooden wall. Finally he answered, “Mr. Gerhardt is the groundskeeper for the golf course. He’s a new staff member. I suppose he’s just trying to figure out his job. I’m sure he didn’t mean any harm.”

  McKenzie spoke up. “Mr. Gerhardt…Is his first name Dan, by any chance?”

  “Why yes, it is,” answered the old man.

  Elizabeth spoke up. “Well, he seemed very upset that we were there. To tell you the truth, he was pretty scary.”

  “Mr. Gerhardt is a good man. He just has a lot on his mind. I’m sure he didn’t mean to scare you,” said Mr. Anzer.

  Elizabeth and McKenzie looked at each other but said nothing. Standing up, Elizabeth told her old friend, “Thanks, Mr. Anzer. It’s always great to talk to you. Maybe I’ll come by for a ride this afternoon.”

  “That would be nice, Elizabeth. You girls go have fun. And stay out of trouble!” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

  At the mention of the word treasure, Mr. Gerhardt’s face went white, his eyes grew wide, and his hands balled into fists. “What do you know about a treasure? Have you found something? If so, you need to tell me about it right now!”