by Charles Tang
Benny answered, “One of your horses doesn’t go up and down.”
Joshua frowned. “Is that so? I hadn’t noticed. I’ve been too busy working on the House of Mirrors.”
Benny cleared his throat.
“And what else?” Joshua asked.
“The dapple gray has a big scratch on its side,” Benny said.
“My word!” Joshua said, with a worried tone. “You’re very observant, Benny.”
“Yes, he is,” Violet said. “We thought you should know that something is wrong with your valuable horses.”
“I’m glad you told me,” Joshua said, standing up. “Let’s take a look.”
They filed out of the small trailer door and hurried to the merry-go-round.
“Ned,” Joshua said, “start her up, will you?”
With a sigh, Ned crushed his paper sack between two big hands, and tossed it in the trash can. He went to the switch and flipped it on. The merry-go-round started.
Joshua observed the pale gray horse. “Ned,” he said worriedly, “that horse isn’t moving.”
Ned shrugged. “So what’s the big deal?”
Joshua frowned, jumped up on the carousel, and examined the dapple gray. “Turn it off, Ned,” Joshua said grimly, his eyes darkening. “This is bad. Two of my Dentzel horses have been damaged.”
“What do you mean?” Ned grumbled. “Just because a horse doesn’t go up and down doesn’t mean it’s damaged. Some kids like a horse that stands still.”
“Not me!” Benny exclaimed.
Ned glared at him.
“And that scratch,” Joshua said after he examined the horse. “I don’t understand how a scratch that long could happen accidentally.”
Benny’s eyes grew big. “You mean someone hurt your horses on purpose?”
“Maybe,” Joshua said, his lips tightening. “One horse doesn’t go up and down, and suddenly there’s a scratch on another one. It’s strange, I have to admit.”
“Who knows how long that scratch has been there?” Ned snapped. “I think you’re all crazy.”
“No,” Joshua said calmly. “That scratch is brand-new. I know it. I intend to find out how it happened.”
“Yes, the scratch is new,” Benny said firmly. “I know that scratch wasn’t there before, ’cause I’ve been riding the dapple gray all the time.” He looked up at Joshua. “We’ll help you find who did this!”
Joshua managed a smile. “Thanks, Benny. That would be wonderful if you would help me.”
“We will,” Benny said.
“I appreciate how you came all the way over here to tell me,” Joshua said. “I believe you’re more concerned than my daughter.”
“I’ll bet if Karen knew about it, she’d be upset, too!” Benny said.
“I doubt it,” Joshua said miserably. “She’s more interested in the House of Mirrors.” He shook his head. “And now she’s talking to me about putting in a small roller coaster.”
“A roller coaster!” Violet said with astonishment. “That would take a lot of space!”
“It would take up half the park,” Henry said in dismay.
“I know,” Joshua said grimly. “But right now, all I can think about is my horses.”
“I’m sure it will work out,” Jessie said reassuringly.
Joshua gave her a weak smile, but he looked doubtful.
Henry sat on the edge of the merry-go-round platform, ignoring Ned who was tinkering with the machinery.
I wish I could help Joshua, Benny thought. He looks so sad, and he’s such a nice man. He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket, but just as he was about to sneeze a breeze came up, whisking the white square out of his hand.
The handkerchief flew through the air and landed on the floor of the merry-go-round. Without a second’s wait, Benny yelled, “My handkerchief!” and rushed forward, hopping up on the platform. The linen square, however, escaped from his fingers and fluttered beneath the chocolate brown horse. Benny crawled on all fours after it.
He reached for the handkerchief, grasping it. “I got it!” he shouted triumphantly. Then he happened to look up at the horse’s underside. Benny scrambled backwards and said in an excited voice, “The horse’s stomach doesn’t have any paint on it! It’s all bare wood.”
Henry glanced at Benny in astonishment. Then he quickly dashed forward. Ducking his head, he examined the horse. “Benny’s right,” he called out.
Standing up, Henry said in a puzzled tone, “That beautiful horse isn’t finished. Someone left it only partly painted.”
“Surely Gustav Dentzel would carefully paint every inch of his horses,” Jessie said, a frown crossing her face.
“Oh, no,” Joshua Eaton groaned, checking out the horse for himself.
Violet’s heart felt heavy. Had another horse of Joshua’s been tampered with? Who would do such a thing to this splendid carousel?
Just then Ned joined them. “What’s the matter now?” he asked in an annoyed tone.
“The brown horse isn’t completely painted,” Henry said. He didn’t like talking to Ned. The man was short-tempered and didn’t seem to care at all about the merry-go-round he operated.
“This is terrible,” Joshua said. “Dentzel would never have sold an imperfect horse.”
“What are you so upset about?” Ned growled with a shrug. “It’s only a couple of merry-go-round horses.”
But it was plain that Joshua was upset.
“We’d better go home,” Jessie urged.
Joshua nodded absentmindedly as he walked away with his head down.
Leaving the amusement park, the children glimpsed Karen, carrying a clipboard. She was checking the House of Mirrors entrance. She glanced up but seemed to look right past the Aldens as she hurried on.
Jessie gave a discouraged sigh. If Karen had her way, a roller coaster would be installed. Then the amusement park wouldn’t be the same.
CHAPTER 8
A Frightening Phone Call
After their trip to the amusement park, the children hiked home.
After opening the door, Benny ran in and threw himself on the sofa. “I feel bad,” he said.
“Do you have a cold?” Henry asked.
“No.” Benny’s voice was muffled as he pulled the pillow over his head. “I feel bad for Joshua and his horses.”
“I know,” Henry said soothingly. “It’s a shame we can’t find out who’s hurting the horses.”
Just then the phone rang.
“I’ll get it,” Jessie said, jumping up from her chair.
“Hello,” she answered.
For a moment she only listened. Then she said angrily, “Who is this?”
Benny sat up. Henry looked at Jessie inquiringly. Violet hurried in from the kitchen, halting when she saw Jessie talking on the phone.
Suddenly Jessie slammed down the telephone.
Wide-eyed, Benny asked, “Who was it?”
Quietly, Jessie sat down, stunned. Then she spoke. “It was this awful deep voice warning us to keep away from the amusement park.”
“What?” Henry said.
Jessie’s face was white as she repeated the caller’s words. “He said, ‘Don’t come back to the amusement park.’ ”
“The nerve!” Violet said, her dark eyes blazing with anger.
Benny leapt to his feet, his hands on his hips. “This is a free country! We’ll go to the amusement park anytime we want to.”
“Right, Benny!” Jessie said, her chin jutting out with determination.
“We won’t be scared off!” Violet said firmly.
“Who do you suppose doesn’t want us near the park?” Henry asked. “And why?”
The children spent the afternoon playing Monopoly, but their minds were on the phone call. Every once in a while Jessie glanced anxiously at the phone as if afraid it would ring again.
Just after Violet won the game, someone knocked on the door.
Benny rushed to answer. He flung open the door. His eyes were wide. “H
i, Joe,” he said. “Hi, Alice.”
“Come in,” Violet said.
“Oh, we’re so happy to see you,” Jessie said. Then she told them about the terrible phone call, her words tumbling over one another.
“And,” Benny added, “today we saw a merry-go-round horse whose stomach wasn’t painted.”
Joe’s eyebrows rose. “What’s happening at the old amusement park?” he questioned with a worried frown darkening his face.
“Maybe you should stay away from the park for a while,” Alice said nervously. “I don’t like the sound of what’s going on over there.”
“I agree,” Joe said soberly. “We have to think about this.” Seeing the worried look on the children’s faces, he added, “But we’ve got to eat. Let’s go to Mike’s Spaghetti House for supper, go to a movie, and on the way home we’ll stop for ice cream.”
“Oh, boy,” Benny said, clapping his hands. “Could we?”
“Of course, we can,” Joe said.
Violet laughed. “That’s a wonderful idea. We’ll forget all about phone calls and carousel horses.”
“I’d love to spend an evening like that,” Jessie said gratefully.
Alice managed a smile. “You’re right, Joe. We need to forget about the park tonight.”
“Then it’s settled,” Joe said. “Mike makes the best spaghetti sauce in town, and at the Pine Grove theater there’s a new movie called, The Robot Who Had a Heart. ”
“Perfect,” Henry said with a grin.
“We’ll leave in thirty minutes,” Alice said. “Will you be ready?”
“I’ll be ready in five,” Benny said quickly.
Jessie laughed. “Thirty minutes will be fine.”
And in half an hour the children had washed and dressed. Violet’s lavender ribbons in her hair matched her T-shirt. Jessie wore a green top and jeans. Her long hair was pulled back with a green ribbon. Henry, all in white from his T-shirt to his sneakers, had on a red sweatshirt. And Benny, in red jeans and a blue-and-white T-shirt, looked very patriotic.
“I’m ready!” Benny said.
And so were Violet, Jessie, and Henry.
Their dinner at Mike’s was just as good as Joe had promised, and the movie had lots of exciting scenes. Afterward they stopped at an ice-cream parlor and ate scrumptious butterscotch sundaes, piled high with whipped cream and nuts.
On the way home Jessie sank into the back seat of the station wagon and said, “What a wonderful evening. I didn’t think of that awful phone call one time!” She smiled contentedly. “Thank you, Joe and Alice.”
“Yes, thanks,” Benny echoed. “Wasn’t it exciting when the robot caught the mean guy and twirled him around?”
“Yes,” Alice said, her eyes twinkling. “I’m glad we went. Joe and I have been working hard at the museum, too, and a night out did us all good.” She glanced at her watch. “Do you know it’s past midnight?”
As they drove past the dark amusement park, closed for the night, Joe suddenly slowed down. “Look,” he said, pointing in the direction of the park.
Flashes of light brightened a corner of the park. “How weird,” Violet said. “What is it?”
The bright light continued to go on and off.
“I don’t know,” Benny said. “Maybe it’s a spaceship.”
Alice laughed. “I don’t think so, Benny. But I can’t figure it out either.”
“Could it be a flash camera?” Henry asked.
“Why would someone be taking pictures at night?” Jessie asked in a puzzled voice.
“You know, Henry, I think you’re right,” Joe said. “The light seems like the light from a flash camera.”
“I still don’t know why anyone would be taking pictures this late,” Jessie said.
Joe nodded. “It is odd! I wonder why,” he said.
“Maybe,” Henry said thoughtfully, “this person doesn’t want to be noticed taking pictures in daylight.”
“I don’t like it,” Joe said.
“Remember when we first got here?” Jessie said. “We saw that truck that had broken down. It had lots of camera equipment in it.”
“Right,” Violet said. “And that man said he was delivering the equipment to someone.”
“But to who?” Benny asked.
Joe interrupted. “Wait a minute. That truck may have had nothing to do with what we’re seeing now.”
“Maybe we should tell Joshua,” Jessie said.
The flashes of light stopped and all was quiet.
“Not tonight,” Joe said. “Let him get a good night’s sleep. Anyway, whoever’s in the park will just disappear if we go in.”
“We’ll go to the park first thing tomorrow and tell Joshua,” Jessie promised.
When they returned home, the children went directly to their little guest house. The strange lights were still on everyone’s mind.
“I wish we knew what was going on,” Henry said, dropping into a chair.
“Do you think it has something to do with the horses?” Benny asked in a trembling voice. “I don’t want anything to happen to my beautiful horses.”
“None of us do,” Jessie said, agreeing with Benny. She sat cross-legged in front of the chair. “But look at all the strange things that have happened around the merry-go-round.”
“Even Sheila,” Violet said, “seemed upset when she heard one of the horses wouldn’t go up and down.”
“And now it turns out three of the horses are damaged,” Henry said, frowning in thought.
“And someone’s sneaking in the park at night to take pictures and to hurt the horses,” Benny said, his chin in his hands. “This is getting weirder and weirder.”
“Yes, it is,” Violet said.
“So weird,” Jessie said, “that I think we’d better go to bed and sleep on it.”
“I won’t sleep!” Benny announced.
Henry stood up and stretched. “Oh, I think you will, Benny. Come on, let’s get in our pajamas.”
“And we’ll go to the park tomorrow,” Jessie promised. “Joshua might be able to shed some light on what’s going on.”
Maybe, Violet thought. But she doubted it. Joshua seemed as confused as they were.
CHAPTER 9
The Expert
After their late night out the children slept later than usual the next morning.
Henry mixed up a batch of pancakes, Violet broiled the sausages, Jessie poured the orange juice, and Benny set the table.
After they had eaten, they rode their bicycles to the amusement park to tell Joshua about what they’d seen.
Henry pedaled faster to pull alongside Jessie. “Shall we tell Joshua about your phone call?”
Jessie shook her head. “You know, I feel sorry for Joshua. He has enough to worry about. Let’s keep the phone call our little secret.”
“I think you’re right,” Henry said.
When they arrived, they parked their bicycles and walked by the concession stand. Sheila spotted them right away. “Are you back again?” she said in disbelief. “You’d think this place was your second home.”
Jessie glanced at her but didn’t answer. She kept walking. So did Benny, Violet, and Henry. Sheila certainly didn’t welcome them to the park. “Isn’t it funny,” she asked, “that Sheila is so unfriendly?”
“It is,” Henry said.
“Do you think she could be the one who phoned us?” Violet asked.
“It was a man’s voice,” Jessie answered.
“I wonder if we’ll ever find out who it was,” Violet said.
“I’m sure we will.” Jessie’s response was positive.
At last they spotted Joshua. His gray hair ruffled by the breeze, he stood chatting with Ned by the merry-go-round.
“Hi, Aldens,” he called. “Before we open the park, do you want a free ride?”
Violet smiled. “Thanks, but not today, Mr. Eaton. We need to talk to you.”
Joshua gave them a quick look. “Okay, come over and have a seat.” He sat down o
n the merry-go-round’s platform.
Ned pushed back his hat and stared at them for a few seconds. Then without a word he walked away to the coffee stand.
Benny sat down next to Joshua, but his brother and sisters stood. “Well,” Joshua said, glancing at their faces. “What”s wrong?”
“Last night,” Henry said, “when we drove by the closed park, we—”
“We saw,” Benny interrupted, “the sky lit up with lights.”
Joshua frowned. “What was it?”
“We think someone might have been taking flash pictures,” Jessie explained.
Joshua looked confused. “What is going on?” he said. “I think I need to do something about this!”
Karen, wearing white jeans and a green short-sleeved sweater, stepped out of the House of Mirrors and joined them. “Hi, Dad.” She glanced at the children. “Hello, Aldens,” she said without smiling.
“Hello,” Jessie said, shifting uneasily from one foot to the other. She wasn’t comfortable around Karen. She knew how Karen felt about the merry-go-round and wasn’t sure if she’d care about her father getting to the bottom of this.
“Karen,” Joshua said calmly, “the children told me that someone took flash pictures here last night. Something is definitely going on. Three of my horses have been tampered with!”
Karen raised her eyebrows. “Three?”
Boldly, Benny spoke up. “Yes, three! The light gray doesn’t go up and down. The dapple gray has a big scratch, and the chocolate brown’s stomach isn’t painted!”
“Is that so?” Karen replied, hands on her hips and head tilted to one side. A frown crossed her freckled face and her red hair shone crimson-gold in the sunlight. “It doesn’t sound too serious to me. It’s probably all coincidence.”
“It is serious!” Benny exclaimed. “The horses are being hurt!”
Sighing, Karen glanced at her father. “Then I suppose you’ll be checking into this.”
“Those are valuable horses, Karen,” Joshua retorted. His round cheerful face was changed into a scowl. “And I intend to find out something today!”
“You’re not going to call the police, are you?” Karen asked, with concern. “That wouldn’t be good for the park at all.”