The Spy Game

The Aldens began to speak at once.

  “What kind of game is that?”

  “Is there really a spy?”

  “How do you play it?”

  “Is the stone riddle part of the game?”

  “Let me explain,” Amanda said, laughing. “The spy game was my grandfather’s invention. You see, he always had a special gift waiting for me every summer—only I had to find it first.”

  “You mean your grandfather hid it somewhere?” Benny asked.

  “Yes, he did,” Amanda replied. “And believe me, my grandfather was a real pro at making up codes and clues. Sometimes it took me all summer to track it down.”

  “That sounds like fun!” said Jessie.

  “It sure was,” said Amanda. “Of course, Grandfather always gave me a hint about the gift.” She paused for a moment and smiled. “One summer, I tracked down a dollhouse,” she went on. “The hint my grandfather gave me was: I spy with my little eye, something made of wood,”

  “Oh!” cried Violet, who suddenly understood. “So that’s why you called it the spy game.”

  Henry had a question. “But how can you be sure your grandfather carved the stone riddle?”

  “Because of the note, Henry.” Amanda reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “After you showed me the riddle, I went into the house and found the message my grandfather left me in his will.”

  “What does it say?” Benny was so interested, he’d only eaten one bite of his sandwich.

  Amanda unfolded the note. “Why don’t I read it to you?”

  The Aldens were all ears. They leaned closer to catch every word.

  Amanda read the message aloud:

  I spy with my little eye

  something made of gold:

  So follow the clues

  both night and day;

  leave no stone unturned,

  the game’s in play.

  “‘Leave no stone unturned?’” Henry repeated.

  “He must have meant the stone walkway!” Jessie added.

  “It does make you wonder, doesn’t it?” said Amanda. “I mean, the riddle seems to be pointing right to it.”

  “Hidden gold!” cried Benny. “I can’t believe it.”

  “But … hidden where?” Violet wondered aloud.

  “That’s a good question,” said Amanda. She looked at her crutches propped up against the picnic table and sighed. “If only I could track down the clues.”

  “Maybe we could help,” Jessie offered. “We’ve solved lots of mysteries.”

  Benny added, “We’re good detectives.”

  Amanda seemed delighted by their offer. “You’ve got your work cut out for you,” she warned them. “My grandfather was a real mystery buff. I think he read every mystery book in the library.”

  “We like mysteries, too,” Benny piped up. “We’ve read every one of the Detective Club books.”

  Amanda’s smile faded. “What?” She gave the children a sharp look.

  “It’s a mystery series,” Jessie explained to Amanda. “Have you heard of Mila Jones and Jake Winston?”

  “Doesn’t ring a bell,” Amanda said with a shrug. Then she quickly changed the subject. “Before I forget, let me pay you for today.” She reached into her pocket again and pulled out a handful of dollar bills.

  Henry shook his head. “We couldn’t take your money.”

  Amanda frowned. “Now, none of that. You deserve a reward for your hard work.”

  “We already got a reward,” Benny told her. “We found a mystery!”

  Amanda hesitated, then tucked the bills back into her pocket. “Well, I’ll just have to find another way of thanking you.”

  Benny was glancing around while everybody finished lunch. “Hey! There’s a man in the yard,” he said, pointing.

  Sure enough, a dark-haired man in sunglasses was standing by the stone jigsaw puzzle. He was wearing a T-shirt, cut-offs, and rubber flip-flops.

  “What’s he doing?” Benny asked in a hushed voice.

  “Oh, that’s just Steve Kooner,” Amanda said. “He’s renting the room above the garage for the summer. We weren’t expecting him for a few weeks, but he showed up last night. It was a nice surprise.”

  Steve Kooner suddenly looked up. He gave them a friendly wave, then hurried over.

  “Steve’s a friend of mine from Chicago,” Amanda said, after introducing everyone. “He’s taking a break from city life for a while.”

  “And I’ll enjoy every minute of it, too,” said Steve. “There are some things you can’t get in the city.” He looked around the table and smiled. “Like a picnic lunch under the Yawning Tree.”

  “The what tree?” Benny asked.

  “The Yawning Tree,” Amanda repeated with a grin. “That’s what my grandfather called this big elm.” She tilted her head back and looked up. “See that hollow in the trunk? Grandfather used to say the hollow was the tree’s mouth.”

  Violet giggled. “It does look like the tree’s yawning.”

  “By the way,” Steve said, “what’s that all about?” He pointed towards the stone riddle.

  “It’s the spy game!” Benny blurted out. “And guess what? We’re going to find hidden gold for Amanda.”

  Steve’s eyebrows shot up above his sunglasses. “Hidden gold?”

  “It’s a game of codes and clues,” Amanda quickly explained. “My grandfather invented it.”

  “I hope you don’t have your heart set on these kids finding gold, Amanda,” Steve said. He shook his head. “Mark my words … it’ll never happen.”

  Jessie and Henry exchanged glances. What did Steve mean?

  “No, they’ll never figure out that riddle,” Steve told Amanda. Then he turned and walked away.

  CHAPTER 4

  Fudge Hollow

  “Steve sure will be surprised when we find the hiding place,” Benny said later that evening. The children were playing a board game in the kitchen with Grandfather. They’d told him everything that had happened at the Penner place.

  James Alden spoke up. “Amanda’s lucky that she just happened to hire top-notch detectives to remove the stones from her walkway.”

  “She really lucked out,” said Benny.

  Grandfather chuckled. “Yes, I guess she did.”

  Mrs. McGregor joined them at the table. “I’m surprised that Amanda hasn’t put the Penner place up for sale.”

  “Why would she do that, Mrs. McGregor?” asked Violet, passing the popcorn to Benny. “The house has been in the Penner family since 1904.”

  “Brandon Penner built it for his bride.” Henry pointed out. “What was her name again?”

  “Dora,” Jessie reminded her brother.

  Grandfather had a puzzled look. “Did you say … Dora?”

  Benny swallowed a mouthful of popcorn. “Well, her real name was Pandora,” he said. “But everybody called her Dora for short.”

  “Are you sure?” Grandfather looked uncertain.

  “Amanda showed us her picture, Grandfather,” Jessie told him. “It was taken on her wedding day.”

  Grandfather seemed surprised to hear this. “Well, what do you know?” he said. “I always thought her name was Abigail. I can’t recall where I heard that, though. The Penner family was rich. They paid for the Greenfield library to be built! They were very well known.”

  Jessie and Henry exchanged glances. James Alden knew all there was to know about the history of Greenfield. It wasn’t like him to get names wrong.

  “Time to call it a night,” Mrs. McGregor said in the middle of a yawn.

  Grandfather glanced up at the clock. “I didn’t realize it was so late.”

  After saying good-night to Grandfather and Mrs. McGregor, the children gathered in Henry and Benny’s room to talk about the spy game.

  “How does the riddle go again?” Benny asked.

  Jessie flipped her notebook open and read it aloud: “The rings of time/ go round and round/ a hollow hides/ what must be found.”
br />   “The rings of time,” Henry repeated thoughtfully. “That’s the tricky part.”

  But Violet was fairly sure she had it figured out. “A clock tells time.”

  “You think we should be looking for a clock?” Jessie asked in surprise.

  “I’m only guessing,” said Violet. “But the clues seem to fit.”

  Benny was quick to agree. “The hands of a clock go round and round.”

  This got Jessie thinking. “Isn’t there a grandfather clock in Amanda’s front hall?”

  “That’s right!” said Henry. “And what better place for a grandfather to hide a clue?”

  “Or the gold!” Benny said excitedly.

  “That’s good detective work, Violet,” praised Jessie.

  Violet put up her hand and the others gave her high-fives. “We can check it out in the morning,” she said.

  The next day, when the Aldens went back to the Penner house, they were sure they were on the right track to finding the gold. They made a beeline for the grandfather clock and checked it out, top to bottom. But even after searching for secret hiding places, they were still no closer to solving the mystery.

  “Uh-oh,” Amanda said as the children came into the kitchen. “I can tell by those long faces that you struck out.” She was sitting at the table going through the mail.

  “I’m afraid so,” said Jessie, and the others nodded.

  “Listen, you wouldn’t take money for your hard work yesterday,” said Amanda, “so Mrs. Dawson and I came up with an idea to thank you.”

  Amanda’s housekeeper held up a wicker basket. “How does a picnic in Fudge Hollow sound?” Mrs. Dawson asked.

  “I love picnics!” Benny said.

  “We all do,” Violet added.

  Just then, Jessie noticed something on the floor by Amanda’s chair. She hurried to pick it up.

  “I think you dropped this, Amanda,” she said.

  “Oh?” Amanda looked up from sorting the mail. “What is it, Jessie?”

  “A business card, I think,” Jessie said, taking a closer look. “For the Greenfield Modeling Agency.”

  Amanda suddenly snatched the card from Jessie’s hand. “That’s nothing important,” she said, tearing the card into little pieces. “People keep giving me their business cards whenever I go into town.”

  Mrs. Dawson handed the Aldens the picnic basket. “Just go out the back gate,” she told them, “then follow the path across the fields. It’ll take you right to Fudge Hollow.”

  “Don’t worry,” Henry said, as they walked out the door. “We won’t get lost.”

  Outside, Jessie turned to the others. “Did Amanda seem like she was acting a little strange to you?”

  “What do you mean, Jessie?” asked Violet.

  “She dropped a business card,” Jessie explained, “and when I handed it to her, she ripped it into little pieces.”

  “She said she just gets too many of them,” Henry reminded her. “I’m sure that’s all it is.”

  “You’re probably right,” said Jessie. Still, she couldn’t help thinking it seemed a bit odd.

  The children were soon walking single file along a path that led through fields of buttercups and daisies. They hadn’t gone very far before Jessie suddenly stopped in her tracks.

  “What is it?” Henry asked, almost bumping into her.

  Jessie swirled around on her heel. “We’re going to Fudge Hollow!” she almost shouted. She was staring wide-eyed at her sister and brothers.

  “We know that, Jessie,” Benny reminded her. “It’s just up ahead.”

  “It’s not that, Benny,” Jessie said.

  “What, then?”

  Jessie began to recite the stone riddle, and the others soon joined in. “The rings of time/ go round and round/ a hollow hides/ what must be found” They all knew it by heart.

  Henry smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Why didn’t I think of that?” he said, suddenly catching on. “I bet the last part of the riddle leads to Fudge Hollow.”

  “I think it’s likely,” said Jessie.

  “Yippee!” Benny raised both arms in the air as he let out a cheer. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

  “Don’t go saying ‘yippee’ just yet, Benny,” Violet warned him. “We might—”

  Before she had a chance to finish her sentence, the youngest Alden was off running.

  CHAPTER 5

  The Rings of Time

  For the next few hours, the Aldens weaved their way through the trees, trudged through brush, and climbed over rocks. They weren’t sure what kind of clue they were looking for, but they kept an eye out for anything unusual. When they came to a creek, Benny pointed to a fallen tree that made a perfect bridge across the water.

  “I bet that’s the spot Amanda was talking about,” he said.

  Violet looked over. “You mean, where she’d sit with her grandfather?”

  Benny nodded. “And they’d dangle their feet in the water.”

  “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” said Henry. “Why don’t we have our picnic right here?”

  With that, the children pulled off their socks and shoes, then made their way to the middle of the log. As they sat side by side, Jessie passed out the sandwiches, while Henry opened the thermos and poured the lemonade.

  “We’ve been all over Fudge Hollow,” Benny said, as he dipped his toes into the cool water. “What’s next?”

  “I haven’t the slightest idea,” Jessie admitted.

  “Maybe we missed something,” said Violet. She tore a piece of crust from her bread and tossed it in the water for the ducks.

  “Maybe,” said Henry. But he didn’t sound as if he believed it.

  Nobody said anything for a while. They were each thinking the same thing. Had Steve been right? Was this a mystery they couldn’t solve? Finally, Benny spoke up.

  “I wonder how Amanda knew,” he said thoughtfully

  Jessie looked over at him. “Knew what, Benny?”

  “That this tree was over a hundred years old,” said Benny.

  Henry had an answer. “Amanda probably counted the tree rings.”

  “Tree rings?” Violet gave her older brother a puzzled look.

  “I read somewhere—in school, maybe—that there’s a ring around the trunk for every year a tree’s been alive,” said Henry. “I’ll show you.”

  He scrambled off the log with Benny close behind, then pointed to the bottom of the fallen tree where it had been cut down long ago.

  Violet hurried over to take a look for herself. So did Jessie.

  “See how the rings go round and round?” Henry said. “If you count each ring, you can figure out how much time—” He suddenly drew in his breath, surprised by his own words.

  “What’s wrong, Henry?” Benny asked.

  “That’s … that’s it!” Henry cried. “‘The rings of time.’”

  Violet’s eyes widened. “Then the riddle must mean—”

  “A tree!” finished Henry. “We should be looking for a tree in Fudge Hollow!”

  Jessie couldn’t help laughing. “Finding the right tree around here is like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

  Just then, the children whirled around when they heard a familiar voice. It was coming from the path behind the trees.

  “Of course I know what a treasure I’ll be getting,” the voice was saying. It was Steve Kooner. He was talking on a cell phone.

  The Aldens didn’t mean to eavesdrop. But from where they were standing, they couldn’t help overhearing bits and pieces of the conversation.

  “No, no, no!” Steve was saying on the phone.

  “I have to find the ring first.”

  “Did you hear that?” Benny whispered.

  Jessie nodded. None of them liked the sound of this.

  “What?” Steve went on. “Of course, I know there’s a deadline … Don’t worry … I’m telling you, we have it all plotted out.”

  As Steve’s voice faded away, the chi
ldren looked at each other in disbelief.

  “Can you believe that?” Violet said, keeping her voice low. “Steve must be looking for the rings of time, too.”

  Benny looked around to make sure no one could hear him. Then he whispered, “He’s supposed to be Amanda’s friend!”

  Jessie frowned. “Well, he’s not much of a friend if he’s trying to steal her gold.”

  “Oh, Jessie!” Violet’s eyes widened. “You don’t really think that’s true, do you?”

  Jessie frowned. “I don’t know what to think. But that would explain why Steve was trying to stop us from solving the mystery.”

  “He’s afraid we’ll beat him to the gold,” guessed Benny. “Do you think we should warn Amanda?”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t be too hasty,” said Henry. “Amanda would never believe her friend was a thief—not unless we had evidence.”

  Everyone agreed Henry had a point. It was one thing to suspect someone; it was another thing to have proof.

  “Let’s just keep a close eye on him for now,” Henry went on. “If Steve is up to no good, we’ll have to—”

  “Solve the mystery,” Benny cut in. “And fast!”

  CHAPTER 6

  The Yawning Tree

  That evening, Jessie read the last chapter of The Twisted Clue aloud. When she was finished, Henry, Violet, and Benny clapped their hands.

  “I liked the surprise twist at the end,” Henry said. “I didn’t see it coming.”

  “Me, either,” said Violet. “Mila Jones and Jake Winston write cool mysteries.”

  The Aldens had gathered in the room Jessie and Violet shared. Even Watch was curled up on the end of the bed.

  “What’s the next book coming out, Jessie?” Benny wanted to know.

  Jessie, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, flipped to the back of the book. She read aloud: “‘Partners in crime Mila Jones and Jake Winston have put together another great plot sure to leave you on the edge of your seats! Don’t miss THE JIGSAW-PUZZLE MYSTERY, coming out soon!’”

  The children looked at each other in surprise. Then they burst into laughter.

  “Can you believe that?” said Jessie. “The next book is about a jigsaw puzzle!”

  “And we just found a stone jigsaw puzzle!” Benny’s eyes were huge.