Mystery in the Snow

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “It looks like great skiing,” Henry commented.

  Jimmy shrugged. “It’s not bad, but it’s nothing compared to the runs in Colorado. That’s where my parents are.”

  “How do you get to the top?” Benny asked.

  “Rope tow,” Jimmy said. He pointed to a rope moving slowly up the incline.

  To Benny, it looked like a moving snake. He trudged along behind his brother toward the log building. It housed the equipment shop and a warming room.

  Mr. Mercer was just leaving. “The equipment shop is open,” he said.

  People clumped across the wooden floor in colorful plastic boots. Dressed in ski clothes and goggles, they looked like moon walkers — only clumsier.

  Benny doubted he could walk in the boots, let alone ski. “I don’t think I’ll try out for skiing,” he said.

  “That’s a good decision,” Henry told him. “It’s a tough run for a beginner.”

  “But I would like to try it,” Benny said.

  “Maybe you could take a lesson,” Henry said, changing into his boots. “See you later.”

  “Good luck!” Benny called out.

  Henry went outside. There he snapped on his skis and glided toward the other skiers.

  Benny joined his sisters near the windows in the warming house.

  “Did you change your mind about trying out?” Jessie asked.

  Benny nodded. “I need my energy for snow sculpting.”

  Violet held up the book she was reading. “You might want to look at this,” she said. “It’s tells all about ice carving and snow sculpting. I found it in the equipment shop.”

  “I know how to build snowmen,” Benny said.

  “But you can build all kinds of other things, too,” Violet told him. “It doesn’t have to be a snowman.”

  Benny sat down beside her to look at the book. There were lots of photographs and instructions. You could make lions, dragons, castles — anything. “I still think I’ll build a snowman,” he said.

  They all moved closer to the windows to watch Henry coming down the slope. From this distance, the skiers looked like small, dark shapes. It wasn’t long, though, before they spotted Henry. In his bright red ski jacket, he led the pack.

  The Aldens weren’t surprised when their big brother came inside all smiles, saying, “I made it!”

  The sledding tryouts were held on a smaller hill. Everyone who tried out made it. Benny and some of the younger team members would use round plastic sleds. Henry and the other older children would be on toboggans.

  That decided, Jimmy said it was time for lunch.

  Benny wasn’t the only one who was happy to hear that.

  CHAPTER 7

  The Competition Begins

  The Aldens had just sat down to eat when Pete burst into the dining room. He was wearing large orange boots. Their thick rubber soles left a line of snow stars on the floor as he stormed along.

  Freddy followed after him. She pulled off her orange, green, and yellow gloves and stuffed them into her pockets. “Pete, listen to me,” she said. “You can be timekeeper. That’s an important job.”

  Pete rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to be timekeeper!” he shouted. “I don’t want to be anything!” He stormed off.

  Jimmy came along carrying his lunch tray. “What’s the matter with Pete?” he asked Freddy.

  “He didn’t make the events he wanted.” She moved close to Jimmy and lowered her voice. “This whole thing — it’s not fair,” she hissed. “You got all the good people. Something has to be done. Something to…even things out.”

  She noticed the Aldens watching her. She turned to them and smiled. “Oh, hi,” she said, her tone bright. “I was just telling Jimmy that next year, we’ll have to divide up families. It’s not fair that one team gets all that talent.” She sailed off toward the buffet table.

  Jimmy sat down. “We do have a good team,” he said. “We could win.”

  “Are your parents coming for the awards dinner?” Benny asked.

  Jimmy’s entire face turned red as his cheeks. “The awards dinner? I — uh — ”

  “Freddy told us about it,” Henry said.

  “She told us her parents were coming,” Benny said. “Will yours be here?”

  Jimmy stood up abruptly. “They wouldn’t miss it,” he said. He took his tray and moved on.

  “I wonder why he rushed off like that?” Violet said.

  “Maybe he didn’t want to talk about the awards dinner,” Henry said.

  “Why wouldn’t he?” Jessie wondered.

  Henry shrugged. “The competition hasn’t even started. Maybe he thinks it’s bad luck to talk about awards so soon.”

  “Pete and Freddy seemed upset, too,” Violet reminded them.

  “I’m not sure I like this competition business,” Benny said. “It makes everybody act funny.”

  “You can’t think about competing,” Jessie told him. “Just think about doing the best you can.”

  After lunch, Benny met with the other sculptors out on the lawn in front of the lodge. They were all about the same age. The only things they had made with snow were balls, forts, and people.

  “We should stick to something that’s not too hard,” Benny decided.

  The others — Jason, Alan, and Debbie — agreed. They would build snowpeople. But what kind?

  “Why not do us?” Alan asked. “We could have them — us — working on a snow sculpture.”

  “That’s a great idea!” Benny said.

  Violet’s ice carving group — Violet, Beth, and David — were meeting near the ski slope. No one had ever carved ice before. They were all afraid they couldn’t do it.

  “It will have to be a simple shape,” Beth said.

  Watch ambled over to the group. He yawned and put his head in Violet’s lap. That gave her an idea.

  “How about a dog?” she asked. “We could use Watch as a model.”

  Beth twisted her pony tail around her fingers. “The legs would be hard to carve,” she said.

  Violet thought about that. Then, she said, “We won’t have to worry about the back legs if we’re making him sit.”

  At the sound of the word sit, Watch perked up his ears. Then, he sat.

  Everyone laughed.

  Benny and his group were having problems. They tried rolling the snow into bigger and bigger balls, but chunks kept falling off.

  “The snow’s too powdery,” Jason complained.

  Benny had an idea. “If we had some pans, we could fill them with water and pour it on the snow,” he said. “That’d make it easy to pack.”

  They got four buckets of water from the kitchen. Then, they poured the water on the snow. At first, it seemed as though Benny’s plan would work. But the water went fast.

  Jason sighed. “We can’t keep going all the way back to the kitchen.”

  “Even if we had enough water,” Alan said, “the snow would be too heavy to roll.”

  “Then we’ll have to find some other way to build,” Debbie said.

  “Like what?” Jason asked.

  Benny remembered a picture he had seen in the snow-sculpting book. “If we had some sticks or something, we could build forms,” he said.

  Alan liked the idea. “It’ll be easy to pack the snow around them,” he said.

  They looked for something to use to make forms. Behind the lodge, they found a scrap heap next to the garage. Debbie saw an old sled under a tarpaulin. They piled it with metal pipes and strips of wood.

  “Take that wire, too,” Benny said. “It’s perfect for holding the form together.”

  Now that they knew what they were doing, the work went fast. In an hour, four stick figures stood in the snow. By supper time, they had the rough beginnings of snowy self-portraits.

  “I wonder how Freddy’s team is doing,” Jason said.

  “Don’t worry about them,” Benny said. “Just think about doing the best we can.”

  CHAPTER 8

  Smashed Snowme
n

  At 5:30, the snow sculptors were too cold and tired to work anymore. Benny hurried inside to the dining room, where he spotted his sisters and brother at a table. He rushed over to join them. “Wait till you see our snowpeople!” he said.

  Pete stomped into the dining room. He sat down at a corner table.

  Henry pushed himself away from the table. “I think I’ll ask him to eat with us,” he said.

  “He still looks pretty angry,” Benny commented.

  “Maybe we can cheer him up. He seemed so unhappy at lunch,” Jessie said.

  Henry went over and sat down next to Pete. “We have room at our table,” he said.

  “So?” Pete snapped.

  Henry shrugged. “We thought you might like to eat with us.”

  Pete rolled his eyes. “You thought wrong.”

  Henry stood up. “Well, if you change your mind…”

  Violet knew Henry felt bad. When he returned to their table, she said, “Maybe he’ll eat with us tomorrow.”

  “Where’s Grandfather?” Benny asked. “I want to show him our snowpeople.”

  “He’s eating later, with Mr. Mercer,” Violet told him.

  “I’d like to tell Jimmy about them, too,” Benny said, looking around. “Where is he?”

  “I don’t think he’s here yet,” Jessie said.

  “Freddy hasn’t come in either,” Henry added.

  Mr. Mercer’s helper filled plates with hamburgers and French fries and passed them down the table.

  “My favorite!” Benny exclaimed.

  Jessie laughed. “Everything’s your favorite, Benny,” she teased.

  Pete ate fast and started out of the room.

  “Looks like Pete’s not staying for dessert,” Henry observed.

  “He’s not even staying for second helpings,” Benny put in.

  Shortly after Pete left, Freddy appeared. She went from table to table asking, “Has anyone seen my glove?”

  When she asked the Aldens, Benny said, “They’re in your pocket.”

  Freddy yanked out an orange, green, and yellow glove. “The other one,” she explained. “I lost it somewhere.”

  Jessie remembered seeing her with both gloves at lunch. “Maybe one fell on the floor,” she said.

  They looked all around. Benny looked under the table. No glove.

  “Good thing I have another pair,” Freddy said.

  She stuffed the glove back into her pocket. Something fell to the floor. Freddy scooped it up quickly, but the Aldens saw it.

  It was a key, with a tag attached to it.

  Freddy hurried away without looking at the Aldens.

  Behind the Aldens, someone asked, “What was all that about?”

  It was Jimmy.

  “Freddy lost a glove,” Violet told him.

  He shrugged. “It’ll turn up.”

  “And she had a key,” Violet said. “I wonder if it’s the one Mr. Mercer’s missing.”

  Jimmy shook his head. “Probably her room key.”

  “She picked it up so fast,” Jessie said. “Like she didn’t want anyone to see it.”

  Jimmy waved that away. “Freddy does everything fast,” he said.

  Benny told him about the snow sculpture. “Will you come and see it after supper?” he asked.

  “I won’t have time,” Jimmy said. “I have to call my parents and take care of some things for tomorrow. I’ll see it in the morning.”

  “Okay,” Benny said. “By then we’ll have even more work finished.”

  He didn’t sound disappointed, but the other Aldens knew he was.

  “Can we see your masterpiece?” Henry asked.

  Benny brightened. “Let’s go!”

  Jessie laughed. “Aren’t you forgetting something, Benny?”

  Benny was puzzled.

  “Dessert!” Jessie, Violet, and Henry said all together.

  Benny glanced around. People were still eating their hamburgers.

  “We’ll be back in time,” he assured them.

  They trooped out of the dining room and into the lounge, where Watch was lying by the fire. He joined the parade. Benny led them all outside, down the stairs, and across the lawn. It was dark, but floodlights poured bright pools onto the snow.

  Nearly running now, Benny said, “It’s around the side.” When he turned the corner, he saw a long shadow disappearing behind the lodge.

  Watch began to bark.

  “Quiet, boy,” Jessie directed. “Everything’s all right.”

  But as she and Henry and Violet came up beside Benny, Jessie knew she had spoken too soon.

  Chunks of snow were scattered everywhere. Two of the forms were completely bare. Pieces of wood and bits of pipe stuck out from the other snowpeople like broken bones.

  Watch ran around, sniffing and barking.

  “Our snowpeople!” Benny said, stunned. “What happened?”

  No one had an answer.

  CHAPTER 9

  Tracks

  The Aldens stood close together, silently looking at the fallen snow figures.

  Henry put an arm around Benny’s shoulder. “Maybe it was an accident,” he said, hoping to comfort his brother.

  Benny didn’t respond.

  “What kind of accident?” Violet asked.

  Henry shrugged. “Not an accident exactly,” he answered. “What I mean is, maybe an animal did it. A raccoon or something.”

  Benny shook his head. “A person did it,” he said angrily. “On purpose. I just know it.”

  Jessie saw something on the path beside the snow sculptures. She squatted down for a better look. “Benny’s right,” she said. “Look at these.”

  “They’re tracks,” Violet said.

  “Boot tracks,” Henry added.

  Benny knelt down on the snow. “Pete’s boots,” he said.

  “How can you tell?” Henry asked.

  “Look at the pattern,” Benny said. “It’s the same as the one Pete’s boots made in the dining room at lunch.”

  Violet searched her memory. Pete’s large orange boots did leave a pattern of snow on the wood floor. “Stars,” she remembered.

  Henry examined the print. The star shapes were barely visible outlines on the surface of the snow. Other shapes stood out more. It was the reverse of the pattern on the floor.

  “The stars on the boot must be indented — sort of like cookie cutters,” he said.

  “So the snow packs into them and drops out later,” Jessie concluded.

  “Pete did it,” Benny said.

  “You can’t be sure, Benny,” Violet said. “There could be other people with boots like that.”

  “He left the dining room early, didn’t he?” Benny argued. “And I saw him out here.”

  Henry was surprised. “You saw him?”

  Jessie asked, “When?” and Violet, “Where?”

  Benny pointed toward the back of the lodge. “He was just going around that corner when we came out here.”

  “You’re sure it was Pete?” Henry asked. “It’s pretty dark out here. Could it have been someone else?”

  Benny shook his head. “It was Pete’s shadow,” he said.

  “Pete’s shadow?” Violet repeated.

  “If it was only a shadow, Benny, you can’t be sure it was Pete,” Jessie said.

  “Let’s go back to the lodge, and think this through,” Henry suggested.

  “I’m too upset to think,” Benny said.

  “Are you too upset to have dessert?” Violet asked.

  Benny sighed. “I suppose I could eat a little.”

  Henry chuckled. “That’s our Benny,” he said.

  Benny found his teammates Jason, Alan, and Debbie in the lounge. He told them what had happened, but he didn’t mention Pete. They raced outside to see for themselves.

  Pete was not in the lounge or the dining room.

  “He’s probably hiding,” Benny decided.

  The Aldens picked up their dessert plates from the front table and sat d
own to eat. Watch lay down at Jessie’s feet.

  “Why would Pete do such a thing?” Henry wondered aloud.

  “He’s angry because he has to be timekeeper,” Violet said.

  “But he’s on Freddy’s team,” Jessie reminded them. “Wouldn’t he want to get back at her?”

  “Maybe he ruined their snow sculptures, too,” Benny put in.

  That was possible. They decided to check.

  “But first,” Benny suggested, “we should all have a second piece of pie.”

  Jason, Alan, and Debbie came rushing up to the Aldens’ table.

  “We know who did it!” Jason told Benny.

  Benny looked up at him. “So do I,” he said.

  “That dog of yours,” Jason said.

  The Aldens looked at each other in disbelief.

  “Watch did it all right,” Debbie said.

  “What makes you think that?” Henry asked.

  “The tracks,” Alan said.

  “We saw dog tracks,” Debbie added.

  “It had to be Watch,” Jason concluded. “He’s the only dog here.”

  Watch lowered his head and scooted under the table.

  CHAPTER 10

  Another Clue

  Watch destroying the snowpeople? The idea made Henry laugh.

  “Watch wouldn’t do that,” he said.

  Benny was angry. “He didn’t do it,” he said. “He was in the lounge the whole time.” Benny reached under the table and patted Watch’s head.

  “Then how’d the tracks get there?” Jason challenged.

  “We took Watch with us when we went out to see your snow sculpture,” Violet explained.

  “He went wild,” Jessie added. “He ran around sniffing and barking. He knew something was wrong.”

  “If Watch didn’t do it, who did?” Debbie asked.

  “I’ll bet Watch knows,” Benny said.

  “That’s silly,” Jason said.

  “He’s right,” defended Violet. “Dogs’ noses are sensitive. Watch must have picked up the scent. He knows who did it.”

  “A lot of good that does us,” Jason said.

  “Did you see any other tracks out there?” Benny asked. He wanted to know if they had seen Pete’s boot prints.

  “There were tracks all over the place,” Alan said.