Detective Camp Page 2

  “Mademoiselle is living in Darby Lodge while she cleans our poor old paintings,” Bessie Darby said. “How are they coming, my dear?”

  The woman bowed slightly. “Very well, Mrs. Darby,” she said with a French accent. “Only a few more, and then I will be gone and you will have your dining room back again.”

  “May we watch you clean a painting?” Ruth Rose asked.

  “Perhaps,” Mademoiselle Musée said. “If you have some free time later, come to visit me, yes? Mr. and Mrs. Darby, do you have a moment?”

  “Of course, Mademoiselle,” Mr. Darby said.

  “Okay, gang, let’s get some of Mario’s cookies,” Luke said, heading back toward the kitchen.

  As Dink followed, he noticed that Buzzy was no longer in the group. Shrugging, Dink kept walking. As he entered the kitchen, he smelled something wonderful, and his mouth began to water.

  Mario stood by his worktable, smiling. In front of him was a platter piled high with warm cookies.

  “One to a customer,” Mario said. He twirled the ends of his mustache and wiggled his dark eyebrows. Everyone laughed and took a cookie as they filed past.

  Outside again, the kids sat at the picnic tables and ate their cookies. Suddenly a white and brown goat shot around the corner of the barn. He had a beard, short horns, and pointy black hooves. Ronald the rooster was perched on the goat’s back, flapping his wings.

  “Everyone, this is Remote!” Angie said. “I think he wants a cookie. Watch this.”

  The kids all stood up as Remote—with Ronald on his back—approached the kitchen door. He butted the door with his head. A few seconds later, Mario appeared with a cookie in his hand. He gave a small piece to Ronald and fed the rest to the goat.

  “Awesome!” Josh said.

  “Okay, kids, there’s an hour left before supper,” Luke said. “If you’re not unpacked, that would be a good way to spend the time. If your cabin needs more time coming up with your cheer, you can do that. We’ll all meet here at five o’clock.”

  “What do you want to do?” Josh asked Dink and Ruth Rose.

  “Fox Cabin is having a meeting to finish our cheer,” Ruth Rose said. “If we get through before five, I’ll look for you guys.” She got up and joined a bunch of girls at another table.

  “Why don’t we go exploring?” Dink asked Josh. “There’s woods behind the cabins.”

  Dink and Josh headed for the cabins, then walked around toward the back. “Wait a sec,” Josh said. “I want to grab my sketchbook.”

  They climbed the steps to the porch and pushed open the screen door.

  Buzzy Steele was kneeling on the floor next to one of the bunk beds. He jumped up when he heard Dink and Josh come in. Looking embarrassed, Buzzy moved toward his own bed.

  “I dropped my pen,” Buzzy said. “It rolled under Hunter’s bed.”

  Buzzy lifted some papers off his own bed and showed them to Dink and Josh. “These are the daily schedules. You guys want to tack one to the door? I’ll bring the others over to Angie and Luke.”

  Handing Dink the paper and a thumbtack, Buzzy left the cabin.

  “That was weird,” Josh said after Buzzy had gone.

  Dink glanced at the schedule. “What?” he asked.

  “Buzzy snooping around in here, that’s what,” Josh said.

  “Josh, he wasn’t snooping,” Dink said. “He lives in this cabin, and he was getting his pen. You’re the snoop.”

  “Yeah, so where is this pen he said rolled under the bed?” Josh asked. “He wasn’t carrying it when he left.”

  “Come on, we only have forty-five minutes,” Dink said. “Let’s go see what dangerous animals are sleeping behind our cabin.”

  At five o’clock, all twenty-six kids were seated at the picnic tables by the barn. Angie, Luke, and Buzzy carried platters of food and pitchers of milk to the three tables. Everyone chattered as the food came out.

  Buzzy stood on his bench and blew his whistle. All eyes turned to him.

  “Hi, guys,” he said. “I hope you’re ready with your cheers. Let’s have one now, one before dessert, and one down at Shady Lake later. Okay, who wants to be first?”

  “Moose Cabin!” yelled Campbell. The eight boys from Moose Cabin stood up and made a circle.

  “MOOSIES ROCK! MOOSIES ROLL! MOOSIES RULE!” they all shouted.

  Everyone else clapped or whistled.

  “That was great,” Luke said. “Okay, let’s eat!” They all began passing platters of hamburgers and rolls.

  Suddenly a scream came from the kitchen. Before anyone could react, the door flew open and Mademoiselle Musée rushed outside. “My ring!” she cried. “It is gone. I left it on my worktable, and it has vanished!”

  Mario came up behind the upset woman. “We can search,” he told her. “Could you have left it somewhere else, maybe on the sink when you washed your hands?”

  “No!” Mademoiselle insisted. “It was on my table in the dining room. I take it off because the stone cuts the rubber gloves I wear. I put it there this morning!”

  Every kid stared at her.

  “My—my parents gave me that ring,” Mademoiselle Musée wailed. “I’ve had it since I was a little girl.” Then she turned and walked back into the lodge, wringing her hands.

  Dink looked at Josh, who nodded and raised his eyebrows. Dink knew then that Josh was thinking the same thing he was: could the missing ring be hidden in Buzzy Steele’s locked chest?

  “Come on, guys, let’s finish our supper,” Angie said. “I’m sure the ring will turn up somewhere.”

  Just then the goat came around a corner. He sniffed the air, then trotted up to Dink’s table with his mouth open.

  “Maybe the goat took the ring!” one of the girls cried. “Last summer, my cousin’s goat ate his watch!”

  “How could Remote get in the lodge?” one of the Bear Cabin boys asked.

  “Him? He sneaks in all the time,” Mario said. “The lock on this door hasn’t worked in years. He just butts it open. I have to keep the food up high so he doesn’t steal it all.”

  “I’ll call a vet later,” Luke said. “Maybe we can get Remote x-rayed!”

  When Dink looked up, Josh was staring at him. He was slowly shaking his head back and forth.

  A few kids began talking, and the tension slowly drifted away.

  “Okay, who wants to do a cheer next?” Buzzy called out. They had finished the burgers and were waiting for dessert.

  “We will,” one of the girls answered.

  The ten girls made a long line across the lawn. Then they split into three groups. Ruth Rose and Jade made up the first group. The next group had three girls, and there were five in the last.

  All ten girls stood straight, facing the picnic tables. Suddenly they all moved at the same time, changing their bodies into different shapes.

  At first, no one could figure out what the shapes were supposed to be. Each girl looked different as they all bent their backs, arms, and legs.

  Then one of the boys from Bear Cabin yelled, “I know! They made letters. It spells out GO, FOX CABIN!”

  Then everyone else saw it, and they all began to cheer, “Go, Fox!”

  “That was terrific,” Angie said. “It was the best silent cheer I’ve ever seen! Now let’s have ice cream!”

  Luke and Buzzy brought tubs of ice cream from the kitchen. They went around the tables scooping vanilla or chocolate into bowls.

  “Save room for s’mores later!” Angie called out.

  “While you’re eating, I’ll read you tomorrow’s schedule,” Luke said.

  He read from a sheet:

  “7:00—RISE AND SHINE

  8:00—BREAKFAST

  9:00—STRAIGHTEN BUNKS AND TIDY CABIN

  9:30—MARVELOUS MYSTERY MAP TREASURE HUNT

  10:30—DETECTIVE SKILLS WITH DETECTIVE ROBB

  12:00—LUNCH

  1:00—REST, WRITE LETTERS

  1:30—CAMP ACTIVITIES. This is when you get to swim or do archer
y and stuff.

  3:00—AFTERNOON CHORES

  4:00—FREE TIME

  5:00—SUPPER

  6:00—CAMPFIRE

  8:30—QUIET TIME IN CABINS

  9:00—IN BED

  9:15—LIGHTS OUT.”

  “How will we remember all that?” Ian called out.

  “You’ll find a copy of the schedule tacked to your cabin door,” Buzzy said. “Now who’s ready for a campfire by the lake?”

  “Do you think someone really stole Mademoiselle Musée’s ring?” Ruth Rose whispered to Dink and Josh. They were hiking toward the lake.

  “I do,” Josh said. “And I have a good idea who.”

  “Josh thinks Buzzy Steele did it, right, Josh?” Dink said.

  “Buzzy? Why?” asked Ruth Rose.

  “He was sneaking around in our cabin,” Josh said.

  Dink shook his head. “He wasn’t sneaking, Josh. He lives there, remember?” he said.

  “Is anyone in your cabin missing anything?” asked Ruth Rose.

  “Not yet,” Josh said. “But I’m keeping my eye on him.”

  At the lake, kids were already sitting on the circle of tree stumps.

  “Let’s sit together,” Dink said.

  They found three open stumps and sat. Luke and Angie were crouched by the ring of rocks, lighting a fire under the wood. Minutes later, a nice little blaze was going.

  Dink took a deep whiff of the burning wood. It smelled great. The sun was behind the trees and long shadows snaked along the beach. A few early fireflies were blinking among the tree branches.

  “Okay, let’s hear the Bear Cabin cheer!” Angie said. “Then we’ll make s’mores!”

  Everyone cheered as the eight boys from Bear Cabin stood up and formed a circle. They threw their arms around each other’s shoulders and put their heads together like football players in a huddle.

  They began to chant:

  “WE’RE THE BEARS! WHO CARES ABOUT BEARS? WE DO! WE DO! WE DO! BEAR CABIN! BEAR CABIN! BEAR CABIN!”

  All the rest of the kids cheered, stomping their feet in the sand.

  “I know that was more than fifteen words,” one of the Bear boys said. “But the girls didn’t use any words, so we borrowed a few of theirs!”

  “Great job, guys,” Buzzy said. He and Luke passed out graham crackers, marshmallows, and flat chocolate bars. Angie gave each kid a stick with a pointy end.

  “In case you’ve never made a s’more before, listen up,” Angie said. “First, break a cracker in two pieces and put a hunk of chocolate on one half. Then roast your marshmallow. When it’s golden and a little mushy on the stick, plop it on the chocolate and slap the other half of the cracker on top. It’s delicious!”

  The kids took turns roasting their marshmallows. Pretty soon everyone had sticky lips and fingers. Instead of sitting on their stumps, a lot of the campers were lying in the sand, gazing into the fire. The sky had grown dark, and the stars were bright over their heads.

  “While you kids are digesting your s’mores, well tell you about the Marvelous Mystery Map,” Angie said. “You’ll be meeting Detective Robb at breakfast tomorrow. He drew a map that leads to a special treasure, then he ripped the map into twenty-six pieces. Luke, Buzzy, and I hid them all over the camp. Each of you has to find one piece.”

  “How do we do that?” asked Josh.

  “Alphabet clues,” Luke said. “Buzzy, Angie, and I wrote the letters of the alphabet on twenty-six cards. Each of the map pieces will be found in a place that begins with a certain letter. To help you out, we put a clue on the back of each card. You’ll each pick a card out of a hat tomorrow.”

  “I don’t get it,” Campbell said.

  “Okay, here’s an example,” said Buzzy. “Suppose your card has the letter W on the front and a piece of bark taped to the back. Where would you go to look?”

  “I’d go to the woodpile!” said Ruth Rose.

  “And you’d be right!” Buzzy said.

  “Cool!” Campbell said. “It’s a treasure hunt!”

  “You’ll work in teams,” Angie went on. “There are twenty-six of you, and you should form into teams of three or four kids. Remember, your goal is to find all twenty-six pieces of the map and put them back together. The treasure’s location will be on the map.”

  “When do we start?” asked one of the girls.

  “It’s on your daily schedule,” Angie said. “At nine-thirty, right after your morning chores, come up to the picnic tables to get your clue cards.”

  Suddenly Luke jumped on his stump with a banjo in his hands. “Who knows The Washerwoman Song’?” he yelled.

  No one answered.

  “Well, we do!” said Luke. “Come on, Angie and Buzzy, let’s teach it to them.”

  While Luke plucked the banjo strings, all three sang:

  “Way down south, in a wild, wet place,

  There’s a wishy-washy washerwoman washing her face.

  Here’s how the washerwoman washes her face.

  She waves her arms all over the place.

  She wiggles her rear

  and pulls her ear.

  She shakes her toes

  and scratches her nose.

  And that’s how the washerwoman washes her face!”

  “Now everyone stand up and try it,” Luke said. “You have to make all the motions. Anyone who laughs has to sit down, and the last person standing is the winner!”

  Luke started them off with his banjo. “Now sing, ‘Way down south, in a wild, wet place …’ ”

  All twenty-six kids started singing. Within five seconds, they were all laughing and falling in the sand.

  “I guess it’s a tie,” Luke said, grinning. “Tomorrow night, one of you can choose a song. Now let’s put the fire out and head back.”

  “Not so fast!” Buzzy said with a big grin on his face. “Angie, tell the kids about the Shady Lake Monster.”

  “Oh, they don’t want to hear about the Shady Lake Monster!” Angie said, smiling at Buzzy.

  “YES WE DO!” twenty-six kids screamed.

  “Oh, all right,” Angie said.

  It was very dark now, and cooler. The kids leaned closer to the fire. They got quiet as Angie began speaking.

  “Long, long ago, a forest ranger was camping near this very lake in July. The next morning, other rangers found just his hat. The man was never seen again. The following year, again in July, another person disappeared from the banks of Shady Lake.” Angie pointed out at the dark water.

  “This went on year in, year out. Every July, a person walking near this lake would disappear, never to be heard from again. Sometimes adults disappeared; sometimes it was children. Two years ago, a whole bunch of kids disappeared while camping here!”

  Josh moaned, and someone else giggled in the dark.

  “Anyway,” Angie continued, “no one disappeared last July, so some people think the monster is gone. Of course, I have my own theory.”

  Angie leaned closer and whispered, “I think the monster is at the bottom of Shady Lake, hibernating. And while he’s down there hibernating, he’s getting very, very hungry! So keep your eyes open, especially when the sun goes down, just like … now!”

  Suddenly everyone heard a huge splash in the lake.

  “It’s the monster!” Angie yelled.

  The kids all screamed and jumped up. They tripped over their stumps, bumped into each other, and fell in the sand.

  “Run for the cabins!” Buzzy yelled, barely able to keep from laughing.

  The kids shrieked and tore away from the campfire. Dink and Josh burst into their cabin and jumped into their bunks. They were followed by the six other boys, laughing and growling like monsters.

  “That was so cool,” Campbell said. “But my uncle Mickey told me that same story about the camp he went to. He said he heard it from his camp counselors when he was a kid! Buzzy, Angie, and Luke are having a good laugh down there now.”

  “But what made that splash?” Josh asked.

&
nbsp; “One of the counselors probably slipped away from the campfire in the dark,” Campbell said. “When Angie said ‘now!’ Luke or Buzzy must have thrown a rock in the lake.”

  As soon as Dink’s heartbeat had quieted down, he grabbed his toothbrush and headed for the washhouse.

  When he returned to his bunk, Josh was at his cubby, pushing things aside to find his own toothbrush.

  Dink kicked off his sneakers and flopped down on his bed. He picked up his Vermont book and began reading about white-tailed deer.

  Dink heard a scratching sound outside his window. When he turned, he saw Ruth Rose peering in through the screen.

  “What’re you doing out there?” Dink asked.

  “I found it!” Ruth Rose said. “Meet me around front under that big tree!”

  “You found what?” Dink asked.

  Ruth Rose put her hand near the screen. With the light spilling outside, Dink saw it clearly.

  Resting in the palm of Ruth Rose’s hand was a woman’s ring.

  Dink grabbed Josh and pulled him out onto the cabin porch.

  “What’s going on?” Josh asked. “I haven’t even brushed—”

  “Ruth Rose found the ring,” Dink whispered as he tugged Josh off toward the trees.

  Ruth Rose joined them, scurrying from behind their cabin. “It was hidden under my mattress,” she whispered. She showed the ring to Dink and Josh.

  “Do you think it’s hers?” Josh asked. “I mean Mad … what’s her name.”

  “Mademoiselle Musée,” Ruth Rose said. “It must be, unless someone else is missing a ring.”

  “How did you find it?” Dink asked.

  “My mattress was crooked,” she said. “When I straightened it out, I felt the ring.”

  “So someone hid it there,” Dink said. “But why?”

  “I hate to say it, but maybe one of my cabinmates stole the ring,” Ruth Rose said. “And maybe they hid it in case Mademoiselle Musée decided to search the cabins.”

  “If she did, she’d find the ring under your mattress and blame you for stealing it,” Josh said.

  Ruth Rose nodded. “I know,” she said.

  Josh chuckled. “At least we know Remote the goat didn’t eat it,” he said.