“Me, too,” said Henry. “Especially since we haven’t found that sword yet.”
“I know we can solve this mystery,” said Jessie. “We’ve never failed before.”
“I could think better if I had a snack,” Benny said.
“I had a feeling you might say that,” Jessie said, smiling at her brother. “How about some ice cream?”
Benny’s face lit up. Jessie went to the freezer and got out a container of mint-chocolate-chip ice cream, while Henry and Violet got the bowls, spoons, and napkins. Benny got the ice-cream scooper.
Soon they were all settled at the table with bowls of ice cream in front of them. Benny stirred his ice cream around and around until it was soft and melted. Violet thoughtfully licked her spoon.
Benny told the others about Jonathan’s message that night for the bearded man. “What do you think he was talking about?” Benny asked.
Jessie looked concerned. “I don’t know, but it sounds as if he’s working with that man, and they stole the sword together. It sounds as if they plan to sell it and get rich.”
“Jonathan was the last one seen with the sword,” said Henry. “We have only his word that he left it in Mr. Worthington’s tent.”
“And we saw him wandering around that night,” Violet recalled. “Who knows where he was going, or what he was up to. Maybe he took the sword and hid it.”
“I don’t think it was Jonathan!” Benny said. “I think he’s telling the truth—that he left the sword in Mr. Worthington’s tent. I think Mr. Worthington hid it somewhere to get Jonathan in trouble.”
“That’s possible, too,” Henry said, eating another spoonful of ice cream.
Jessie pulled out her notebook and looked at the notes they’d made over the past few days. “There’s another possibility. They could both be telling the truth. Jonathan said he left the sword at about ten o’clock, right after the show ended. Mr. Worthington was still out signing autographs and thinks he came back to the tent at around ten-fifteen. In those fifteen minutes, someone else could have come in and stolen the sword.”
“But who?” Violet asked.
“What about Hannah?” asked Benny.
“Why would she steal her own sword?” Henry asked.
“Yeah, that doesn’t make any sense,” Benny agreed. Violet handed him a napkin to wipe off the ice cream that had dripped on his chin.
“What about Annie?” suggested Jessie. “She keeps talking about needing money for college. She might have stolen the sword for the money.”
“She seemed to be covering up something today,” Violet recalled. “We started talking about the costumes, and then she suddenly got up and left.”
“What do you think she’s covering up?” Jessie asked.
Violet shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“I just have a feeling the sword is hidden somewhere at the park,” Henry said. “Maybe the thief didn’t have time to take it somewhere else that night.”
“Whoever stole it might have buried it,” Benny said. “That’s what you do with treasure.”
Jessie and Violet nodded. But Henry looked unconvinced. “I don’t know,” he said. “If they buried it underground, we’d see a spot that looked freshly dug up. I haven’t noticed any spot like that.”
“We haven’t been everywhere around the park,” Benny pointed out.
“We’ll just have to search the whole place tomorrow,” Jessie said. “It’s our last chance.”
“That park is huge,” said Benny. “How will we ever find it?”
“It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Violet said.
The Aldens sat quietly for a moment, thinking. Then Jessie stood up and carried her bowl to the sink. “We’d better get some sleep. We’ll work on this tomorrow.”
The children went off to bed. But Henry couldn’t fall asleep. Something about what Violet had said kept going through his mind. “A needle in a haystack …” he mumbled as he drifted off to bed.
In the morning, Henry sat up in bed. He had an idea.
CHAPTER 9
A Needle in a Haystack
Henry ran downstairs to the kitchen, where the others were getting breakfast. “You figured it out!” he told Violet.
“I’ve figured what out?” Violet asked. She looked at Henry, confused.
“You’ve figured out where the sword is!” Henry said. “At least, where it very well might be.”
“Henry, sit down and explain what you’re talking about,” Jessie said to her older brother.
Henry sat down, leaning eagerly across the table. “Violet mentioned a haystack. That made me think of the little bits of hay we keep seeing—”
“You mean, like in King Richard’s tent?” Benny asked.
“I saw some in Annie’s hair one day,” Violet recalled.
“Well, maybe that hay is a clue!” Henry said. “A haystack would be the perfect place to bury a sword, wouldn’t it? You wouldn’t need a shovel, so you wouldn’t have to dig.”
“Yes, so …?” Jessie asked.
“You saw the haystack inside the stable, which they use to feed the horses. Well, there’s an even bigger haystack behind the stable,” Henry said.
“So you’re thinking the sword might be hidden inside the haystack?” asked Jessie.
“Yes,” Henry said. “If Annie or Mr. Worthington put the sword there, some hay might have gotten on their clothes or hair.”
“That would explain the bits of hay we’ve seen,” Violet agreed.
The others thought for a moment. “And it makes sense if Jonathan took it,” said Violet. “Remember we saw him heading in the direction of the stable the night the sword disappeared.”
“That’s right!” said Henry.
“All right, as soon as we get there we’ll check the haystack,” Jessie said.
When they arrived at the park, they found it was quiet and empty. Most people had not even arrived for work yet. The children headed straight for the stable tent. They could hear the horses whinnying inside.
Just as Henry had told them, behind the tent was a large pile of hay. “Here’s the haystack,” Henry said. “Let’s start looking.”
It was a big job. Jessie and Henry pulled handfuls of hay off the pile, making another pile of hay alongside it. Benny and Violet joined in. Benny dropped handfuls of hay on the ground in his eagerness to find the sword.
“Benny, watch what you’re doing,” Jessie reminded him. “We don’t want to make a mess here.”
“Sorry,” Benny said, trying to be more careful.
The Aldens had moved a large pile of hay when suddenly, peeking out of the hay, they saw a piece of red velvet.
“What’s that?” asked Violet.
“I don’t know, but it definitely doesn’t belong in this haystack,” said Jessie.
The children worked more quickly now, shoving hay out of the way until they uncovered a bundle, wrapped in red velvet. The velvet was edged in thick far.
“Wait a minute,” said Violet. “I think that’s King Richard’s cape.”
“You’re right,” said Jessie. “Hannah mentioned he’d lost it.” She picked up the cape and immediately broke into a smile. “There’s something wrapped up in here,” she said. She placed the bundle down on the pile of hay and began gently unfolding the velvet. “It feels like …”
A moment later she had pulled off the last fold of the cape. There, lying in the bundle, was the sword. It looked just as the children remembered it. The large red stone glistened in the center.
“The sword!” Jessie said triumphantly.
“Wow, it really was hidden in the haystack!” said Benny.
“Wrapped in King Richard’s cape,” said Violet. “Does that mean he’s to blame?”
“Maybe,” said Henry. “But remember when we saw the Silver Knight that night, he was carrying a bundle. This might be what it was.”
“Let’s get this back to Hannah right away,” said Jessie, wrapping the cape around the sword a
gain. “She’ll be glad to see it.”
The Aldens went quickly to Hannah’s office in the main tent. But there was no sign of her.
“I guess it is still pretty early,” Henry said, looking at his watch. “Probably no one will be here for another hour or so.”
While the children were waiting, they saw a man parking his car in the parking lot. He was wearing a black jacket and sunglasses. A moment later he was walking toward the main tent, a newspaper tucked under his arm. Suddenly Benny recognized him. “That’s Jonathan’s friend,” he said.
“Can I help you?” Henry called out.
“I’m looking for Jonathan Fairbanks,” the man said.
“You can check his tent, but I don’t think he’s here yet,” Henry said. “No one is.”
“I just couldn’t wait to give him the news,” the man said. “Can you give him a message for me?”
“Hey, this is a switch,” Benny said, laughing. “Last time I gave you a message from him.”
“That’s right,” said the man. “I knew you looked familiar. I’m Jonathan’s agent, Steven Chase. Tell him the movie contract is signed.”
“Okay,” Benny said. He wondered what the man was talking about.
“Oh, and give him this.” He handed the newspaper that had been tucked under his arm to Benny and headed back to his car.
“His agent?” Henry said as Steven Chase walked away. “Why does he need an agent?”
“And what do you think he was talking about—the movie contract?” asked Violet.
Benny unfolded the newspaper Mr. Chase had handed him. “Local Actor Chosen for Starring Role in Noble Knights of the Round Table,” the headline read.
Jessie looked at the article over Benny’s shoulder. “It’s about that movie they’re making,” she said. As she began to read it to herself, her eyes widened. “Now I see …” she said to herself.
“What is it?” Benny asked.
“Just a second,” Jessie said, taking the newspaper and flipping the pages. “It’s continued on page 10.” She opened to page 10 and turned it around so the others could see. There, in the center of the page, was a picture of Jonathan. The caption underneath said, “Jonathan Fairbanks will star in movie.”
CHAPTER 10
Noble Knights of the Round Table
“I don’t get it,” said Benny. “Why is Jonathan’s picture in the paper?”
“He got the leading role in that movie, Noble Knights of the Round Table,” said Violet.
“So that’s why he has an agent,” said Jessie. “That must be the movie contract Steven Chase was talking about.”
“Now we know what Jonathan meant when he said his plan was working and he was going to be rich,” said Henry. “He wasn’t talking about stealing the sword at all. He was talking about getting the part in the movie and becoming a star!”
“I knew he hadn’t stolen the sword!” Benny cried.
“I bet that’s why Jonathan was working here—to get practice playing a knight so they’d hire him for the movie,” said Jessie.
“He knew everything about knights,” said Benny. “I asked him if he’d learned it all to work here and he said no, that he’d learned it for something else. Now I know what!” Benny thought for a moment. “He mentioned this movie, too. He said, ‘Here I come, Noble Knights of the Round Table.’ But I didn’t know what he was talking about.”
Just then another car pulled into the lot. “Look, there’s Hannah!” cried Jessie. Leaving the newspaper on Hannah’s desk, she picked up the sword, still wrapped in the cape, and ran toward Hannah’s car. The others followed.
“You’re here bright and early,” Hannah said, getting out of her car.
“We found it! We found it!” cried Benny.
“Found what?” Hannah asked. Then slowly, a look of hope spread across her face. “You found the sword?”
“Yes, look!” Jessie handed her the bundle.
Hannah placed the bundle down on the hood of her car and began to unwrap the cape. When she saw the sword, her eyes filled with tears. “You found it. You really did.”
Hannah hugged each of the Aldens. “Where was it?” she asked.
“It was in the haystack,” said Henry. “Out behind the stable.”
Hannah frowned. “Whatever was it doing there?”
The children shrugged.
“Someone must have taken it and hidden it there,” said Henry. “We don’t know yet who or why.”
“Well I’m just glad to get it back,” Hannah said happily as they walked toward her office. When they’d reached the office, Hannah went to the safe beside her desk. “I’m going to put this sword in the safe right away.” When she had shut and locked the door she turned around and looked down at her desk, where the morning newspaper lay. “What’s this?” Her eyes widened when she saw the picture of Jonathan. “He’s going to Hollywood?”
“His agent stopped by earlier and left that,” Henry explained.
“That’s great news,” Hannah said. Then she sighed. “Great news for him. But I’ll have to find someone new to wear the armor of the Silver Knight!” Hannah headed for the door. “I’m going to see if Jonathan’s arrived yet so I can congratulate him.”
When Hannah left, Jessie turned to the others. “We found the sword, but we still don’t know who stole it.”
“I don’t get it,” said Benny. “I know it wasn’t Jonathan, but we did see him that night with this bundle.”
“No,” said Violet slowly. “We saw the Silver Knight.”
“That’s what I said—” said Benny.
“No,” Violet said again. “What Hannah just said made me realize there’s a difference. She said she’ll have to find ‘someone to wear his armor.’ That night, we saw someone in the armor of the Silver Knight—but that doesn’t mean it was Jonathan.”
“You’re right,” said Henry.
“It could have been Richard Worthington or Annie or anyone!” Benny said. “How will we ever know who it was?”
The Aldens were silent for a moment, stumped.
“Let’s go back to the haystack,” said Jessie. “Maybe there’s a clue there we missed.”
The Aldens walked quickly back behind the stable to the haystack. They looked all around, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
“I wish I knew what we were looking for,” said Benny.
“So do I,” Jessie said.
Just then, Henry spotted something shining in the haystack, near the spot where they’d uncovered the sword. “Wait a minute …” he muttered, hurrying over. He pushed some hay out of the way and then stood back. “Look at this.”
There, partially buried in the haystack was a suit of armor—just like the Silver Knight’s. Jessie helped Henry pull the armor out.
“After they used this disguise, whoever stole the sword hid the armor here, too,” Henry said.
Jessie was holding the armor upright beside her. “But look how small it is,” she said. “It’s barely as tall as me!”
“Who would fit in this armor?” said Henry.
Suddenly Violet realized there was only one person it could be. “It must have been Annie.”
“You’re right,” said Jessie. “She’s the only one small enough.”
“I can’t believe it,” Violet said sadly. “How could she do something so terrible?”
“It’s a valuable sword, and she said she needed money for college,” Jessie recalled. “And the bank refused to give her a loan. That doesn’t excuse what she did, but at least it explains it.”
“And the sword is still here,” Henry pointed out. “She hasn’t sold it or anything. So maybe she realized what she did was wrong and changed her mind.”
The children walked slowly back toward Hannah’s office, carrying the armor. Jessie held the head, Henry the feet.
When they reached Hannah’s office, they found a crowd gathered there. Annie, Jonathan, Hannah, and Mr. Worthington all stood around Hannah’s desk. Everyone was admiring the pic
ture of Jonathan in the newspaper.
“Did you hear the wonderful news?” Jonathan asked, proudly waving the paper.
But before they could answer, the Aldens saw the smile fade from Annie’s face. She grew pale. “You found it,” she said. They knew at once that they were right about Annie having stolen the sword.
“Oh, yes, I nearly forgot with all the excitement,” said Hannah, spotting the children. “The Aldens found the sword.”
“That’s wonderful news,” said Richard Worthington. “I’m so relieved.”
“And we found something else,” said Henry as he and Jessie carefully put the armor down. “This was buried in the haystack with the sword.”
Hannah looked confused. “That armor?” She came closer to look. “This is one of our smaller suits of armor. I don’t understand.”
“I can explain,” Annie said quietly. “I’ve been having trouble paying my bills for college. I was desperate for some way to make money quickly. When I heard you talking about how valuable the sword was …” Her voice trailed off.
“You stole it?” Hannah asked, her voice full of disbelief.
Annie nodded. “I saw Jonathan leave the sword in Richard’s tent that night. No one was around—Richard was still signing autographs. I didn’t want anyone to see me, so I ran to the costume tent and put on a suit of armor.” She stopped and took a deep breath. “Then I took the sword, bundled it in one of Richard’s capes, and hid it in the haystack. I didn’t want anyone to see me in the armor, so I hid that there, too.”
“We did see a person going toward the stable that night, but we thought it was the Silver Knight,” said Benny.
“But why hide the sword?” asked Henry.
“I had just grabbed the sword without thinking what I would do with it. I figured I’d hide it and come back for it later,” Annie explained. “Then I knew almost immediately I shouldn’t have taken the sword. It wasn’t right. But I was afraid to tell anyone what I’d done. I didn’t know what to do. I have been trying to figure out a way to return the sword without anyone seeing me.”
Everyone was silent. At last Mr. Worthington seemed to step into his role as king. “What you’ve done was very wrong, young lady.”