The Mystery of the Black Raven

  CHAPTER 9

  The Raven Speaks

  James Alden stood. “Does anybody know anything about this? I’m sure the cook didn’t put in a rock as part of her lunch.”

  Monique and Mark both snickered.

  Even their father didn’t think it was amusing. “Be quiet,” he told them. “Can’t you see Miss Parker is upset?”

  The former teacher was on the verge of tears. “I thought for sure the raven had been returned. Who would do such a mean thing?”

  “Yeah? Who?” asked Steve Wilson, gazing around the reunion group.

  Jennifer put her arm around Miss Parker’s shoulders. “I think it was just a silly stunt. I’m sure whoever did it is sorry.”

  Violet was glad Jennifer was trying to help Miss Parker feel better, but she wondered if the guilty person was sorry. Someone had deliberately wrapped up a stone shaped like the raven statue and placed it in Miss Parker’s pack. It wasn’t an accident.

  Their guide was confused. “What’s going on?” asked Gil.

  Grandfather hastily explained about the Four Rock Miners’ annual reunion and how the scrapbook and raven were passed along each year.

  “Yes, we’ve heard about your group,” said Gil, nodding. “The reunions are practically legendary.”

  “Well, this year our group will really be legendary,” Grandfather said. “The scrap-book and statue were stolen right after the dinner ceremony. The scrapbook was returned yesterday on the train ride. And now we thought the raven was, too. But apparently this was just a joke.”

  No one except the Pittmans had eaten their lunch. Even Benny had only taken one bite from his sandwich.

  Jessie urged him to eat more, but Benny shook his head. “I don’t want to eat.”

  Jessie noticed the incident didn’t hurt the Pittman family’s appetite. They ate every crumb in the white boxes, leaving their trash on the ground.

  Gil began picking up napkins and paper cups from the picnic site. “I hate to shorten your outing,” he said, “but we’d better head back. I’m afraid it might rain.”

  “I don’t know if my feet will stand it,” groaned Mrs. Pittman, reluctantly slipping into her sandals.

  Miss Parker walked beside Grandfather. Jessie and Henry walked behind them.

  “I feel so bad,” they heard Miss Parker tell Grandfather. “I really wanted the statue returned to you.”

  “We still have this evening,” Grandfather said consolingly. “We may find it yet.”

  “Why don’t we just ask everyone to open their suitcases?” Henry asked his grandfather. “We know someone in our group took those things.”

  Grandfather sighed. “Forcing people to open their bags violates their privacy. We’d need everyone to voluntarily cooperate and I doubt the Pittmans would go along with it.”

  “That’s because they’re the ones with something to hide,” said Jessie.

  “We don’t know that,” Grandfather cautioned. “Remember, Jessie, in this country everyone is innocent until proven guilty.”

  Even if they act guilty? she thought. But she knew Grandfather was right.

  Back at the hotel, the desk clerk was surprised to see the reunion party walking dejectedly through the door.

  “It hasn’t started to rain yet, has it?” he inquired, his eyebrows raised.

  Grandfather reassured the clerk. “We just decided to return a bit sooner.”

  With a ring of the desk bell, Howie rushed over with the luggage cart.

  “I’ll take your packs,” he said, bending to pile the blue, green, and red backpacks as they were handed to him.

  When Henry shrugged the straps off his shoulders and gave Howie his pack, he noticed a faded corner of paper sticking out of the bellhop’s shirt pocket. It looked familiar. Then he realized what it was.

  The missing letter!

  What was Howie doing with Miss Parker’s letter?

  Henry went over to Jessie and Violet. “We need to talk. Where’s Benny?”

  “Over by the dining room totem pole,” said Violet.

  “He’s probably hungry,” Jessie remarked. “He barely ate any of his lunch.”

  “None of us did,” said Henry. “But the totem pole is a good place to talk, away from the others.”

  When Benny saw them coming, he asked, “What’s up?” He knew the look on Henry’s face had to do with the mystery.

  “I saw something in Howie’s pocket,” Henry reported. “A corner of an envelope—”

  “Miss Parker’s letter!” Benny guessed.

  “It looked like it,” said Henry. “But I can’t figure out why Howie would have it. It should be Mark.”

  “Or Monique,” Jessie put in. “Those two are our most likely suspects.”

  Violet shook her head. “I’m not so sure. Haven’t you seen the way Howie’s always around whenever we’re making plans? I think he listens to everything that’s going on.”

  “And maybe,” Henry stated, “he listens at doors!”

  Benny was trying to remember something. The first night in the hotel … he could picture Grandfather getting their room keys from the guy at the hotel desk. But the Pittmans had trouble. Later, when he was in bed, he heard Howie leading Steve and Jennifer Wilson down the hall. Jennifer was asking about the totem pole decorations.

  “They’re hollow!” Benny exclaimed.

  The others stared at him.

  “What’s hollow?” asked Violet.

  “These!” Benny thumped the totem pole. “I heard Howie talking to Steve and Jennifer in the hall the first night we were here. Jennifer asked him about the totem poles. Howie said real totem poles are made of solid wood. But these are hollow!”

  He thumped it again. Sure enough, the wood echoed hollowly.

  “And this one,” Benny said, “has a raven carved on it.”

  Jessie nodded. “Now things are starting to make sense. The raven is important to the Native Americans who live in Alaska. They carve ravens on totem poles and make little statues like the one the Four Rock Miners bought.”

  “And Mark was doodling ravens on his napkin the other night,” Violet reminded them. “Maybe he is mixed up in this.”

  Henry waggled his finger to make a point. “And who have we seen hiding behind this totem pole, eavesdropping on us?”

  “Howie!” Jessie replied.

  They tipped their necks back. The raven was just over Henry’s head, carved between a bear and a seal.

  “I know where Grandfather’s raven is,” said Benny confidently. “But I can’t reach.”

  “I can.” Standing tall, Henry rapped the raven carving. “It’s hollow, all right.”

  Jessie held her breath as Henry poked and pulled at the carving. Suddenly the raven section swung outward. “Is anything in there?” she asked anxiously.

  “Yes.” On his tiptoes, Henry lifted out a round object wrapped in newspaper. He gave the package to Benny. “You figured it out, so you should open it.”

  Sinking to the carpet, Benny yanked at the wrappings. He knew this time it wouldn’t be an ordinary rock. The Four Rock Miners’ soapstone raven lay on his knees.

  “Grandfather’s raven,” he said triumphantly.

  A shadow fell across Benny’s small figure.

  He looked up to see Mark Pittman.

  “So,” jeered Mark, “looks like you found that ugly bird statue.”

  Henry stepped forward. He was about to ask if Mark had put the statue in the hiding place when Monique and the Wilsons walked over.

  “You found it!” Jennifer cried. “How wonderful! Look, everybody! The Aldens found the missing statue!”

  Grandfather, Miss Parker, and the older Pittmans rushed over.

  “Oh, I’m so glad!” said Miss Parker. “Wherever did you find it?”

  “In one of the totem poles,” Benny explained. “It’s hollow. Behind the part with the raven on it is a secret hiding place.”

  Miss Parker turned to Grandfather. “James, you were absolutely right! Your g
randchildren are excellent detectives!”

  Gil came over to see what the excitement was about.

  “So this is the famous Four Rock Miners’ soapstone statue,” he said. “It’s amazing to see such an early carving. May I examine it?”

  Benny glanced at Grandfather. His grandfather nodded. Benny figured the raven couldn’t be stolen again, not with everyone watching.

  “Hmmm.” Gil turned the statue over in his hands, then hefted it, as if checking its weight.

  “Is something wrong?” asked Miss Parker.

  “This is the same statue that has been passed down from generation to generation?” Gil inquired.

  Miss Parker looked confused. “Why, yes. I mean, it’s the one I received from my aunt. She used to attend the reunions but is unable to make the trip anymore, so she gave the scrapbook and raven to me.”

  Grandfather added, “I’ve seen this raven many times over the years. It’s the same one. Something about this statue is obviously bothering you.”

  “Yes,” replied Gil. “Since you are all present, would you mind if I performed a little experiment?”

  “You’re not going to hurt the statue, are you?” asked Miss Parker.

  Edie Pittman flapped a hand. “Who could hurt anything that ugly?”

  “I just want to nick the bottom,” said Gil. “It won’t show, I promise.” From one of the many pockets of his cargo pants he took out a penknife. Turning the statue bottom side up, he carefully scraped. Black coating came off on the knife blade.

  “What is it?” asked Henry.

  “Just as I thought,” said Gil. “Although this raven can’t really talk, it spoke to me in its own way. The statue is too heavy to be soapstone. It’s only covered with a substance that looks like soapstone.”

  “Well, if the raven isn’t made of soapstone, then what is it carved from?” asked Violet.

  Gil smiled slowly, holding up the scratched statue for them all to see the yellow gleam.

  “Gold.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Benny’s Mystery Within a Mystery

  At first everyone was too stunned to speak.

  Then Benny said, “Gold!”

  “Yes,” said Gil, scratching away the imitation soapstone covering to reveal more of the yellow metal beneath. “The Four Rock Miners apparently found an enormous nugget, then had a Native American artist carve it into a raven and cover it with this blackish substance.”

  “But why would they do that?” asked Jessie. “Gold is beautiful. Why coat it with that dull black stuff?”

  Gil carefully continued to scrape. “Probably to keep it a secret. Maybe one of them found the nugget. Rather than split it four ways, they decided to leave it in one piece, like a trophy. So they had it carved and then covered so no one would know it was gold.”

  Grandfather shook his head unbelievingly. “All these years, we’ve been passing a solid gold bird back and forth!”

  “Yes,” said Earl Pittman in a greedy tone. “And now it’s your turn to have it, James Alden. What are you going to do with it?”

  Miss Parker’s eyes flashed. “Are you implying that James is going to sell the raven now that he knows it’s gold? I think you should apologize, Mr. Pittman.”

  “Well, I—” Mr. Pittman turned a deep shade of red.

  Henry noticed Mark and Monique edging away.

  “Come back, you two!” he called.

  “We’re tired,” Monique whined. “We want to go upstairs to our rooms.”

  “I think you’d better stay,” Henry told them. “We have some questions for you guys. Like who put the scrapbook on Grandfather’s seat on the train yesterday.”

  “Do we have to listen to these kids?” Mark complained to his mother.

  His mother crossed her arms. “This whole trip has been fishy. I’d like some answers myself.”

  “Where is Howie?” Benny asked suddenly. He had figured out part of the mystery within a mystery.

  The bellhop had been hanging around when they discovered the raven statue hidden in the totem pole. But now the young man had disappeared.

  “I’ll find him,” said Steve. He went over to the hotel manager and told him the story.

  Soon Steve came back with Howie, who had a guilty look on his face.

  “He was hiding in the housekeepers’ closet,” Steve said with disgust. “Okay, kids. You’re the detectives here.”

  But Gil stared at Howie and said, “Didn’t you apply for a job as a trail guide?”

  “I didn’t get it,” Howie replied. “I didn’t want it, anyway. Too much work, hiking up and down that dumb old trail day after day, picking up trash, telling people they can’t touch the precious relics the old-timers dropped during the Gold Rush.”

  Grandfather looked at Benny. “You think Howie stole the scrapbook and raven and hid them?”

  “I think Howie did some of that stuff,” Benny answered. “But not all of it.”

  James Alden turned to Howie. “I think my grandson is right. Why don’t you tell us your part in this matter.”

  Howie heaved a sigh. “I’m from Skagway,” he began. “All my life I’ve heard about the Four Rock Miners and their annual reunion. I mean, everybody in town knows about it—”

  Gil nodded. “He’s right. The reunion has been written up in the newspaper several times. Go on.”

  Howie continued, “I’m not crazy about Alaska. I want to go someplace warmer, like California.”

  “What’s stopping you?” asked Violet.

  “Money,” Howie said simply. “I don’t make enough to go to California.”

  The hotel manager, who’d been listening, remarked, “And you never will, with your attitude. Howie, you don’t want to work. You’re the laziest bellhop I’ve ever had work for me.” He added to the others, “The manager before me hired Howie. I’ve gone over his references, and none of those people even exist!”

  “So I faked my references.” Howie shrugged. “Would you hire me if you found out I was fired from my last jobs?”

  “You’re a bright young man,” said Grandfather. “Why cheat and lie and ruin your chances?”

  Howie’s shoulders drooped. “People like me don’t get chances. I needed a break and I found one when you people came.”

  When the reunion party arrived, he explained, he eavesdropped and learned they were going to the Golden North for dinner. From an old newspaper article, he knew the famous old hotel was where the reunion members passed on the scrapbook and raven statue. Howie knew those items were special, but he didn’t know why. When he saw James Alden come back with the bundles under his arm, he decided to steal them.

  “I took a hotel passkey,” Howie said, “and used it to get into Mr. Alden’s room.”

  “But Grandfather was in there,” Henry stated. “He would have seen you!”

  Howie grinned. “I’m good at listening. I could hear water running and figured Mr. Alden was in the bathroom. I hoped he’d have the door closed. He did. I slipped into the room and took the scrapbook and raven off the dresser where he left them and was out in five seconds.”

  “Was this after you took Steve and Jennifer to their room?” Benny asked.

  Howie looked surprised. “Yes, it was. How did you know that?”

  “I heard you talking,” said Benny. “I’m good at listening, too. What did you do next?”

  “I had to move fast,” said Howie. “The night clerk was away from his desk, but I didn’t know for how long. I couldn’t chance leaving my post and going outside to put the raven and scrapbook in my car.”

  “So you hid them in the lobby?” guessed Miss Parker. “Wasn’t that risky?”

  “I already knew about the totem pole hiding place,” Howie said. “The guy who had this job before me told me about it. I hid the raven in there. But the night guy came back before I could put the scrapbook in, too. So I shut the totem pole panel and stuffed the book in a potted plant.”

  Grandfather looked disappointed. “You broke into my roo
m and stole things without knowing their value? What did you think you’d get out of that?”

  “I want to be somebody,” Howie said. “I can’t do it in this nowhere town.”

  “You can be somebody anywhere,” Miss Parker told him. “But not by lying and stealing. Tell us the rest of your story.”

  “Well, the night clerk came back and I couldn’t get the scrapbook out of the plant, so I left it there overnight.” Howie shook his head. “When I came on duty the next morning, it was gone! Somebody had taken it!”

  At this point, Monique giggled. Mark wore a silly grin on his face.

  “Gotcha!” Mark said to Howie.

  “You took the scrapbook?” Howie said.

  Jessie said, “I knew you two were involved somehow.” She whirled on Monique. “You had the scrapbook in your pack the day of the train ride. You got off the train last so no one would see you put the scrapbook on Grandfather’s seat.”

  “Monique, is this true?” Edie Pittman demanded.

  “It was just a joke,” Monique said. But she looked ashamed. “Maybe it wasn’t that funny,” she said to Mark.

  “Mark also wrote a note telling us to go home,” Violet accused. “I recognized his handwriting.”

  Now Mr. Pittman spoke to his son. “You wrote the Alden kids a nasty note? What is the matter with you?”

  “Like we said, it was just a joke,” Mark said defensively. “Monique and I were bored. We wanted to have some fun.”

  “What else did you do?” their mother asked.

  Benny knew the answer to that one. “They wrapped up a rock and put it in Miss Parker’s pack so she would think she found the raven statue.”

  Mrs. Pittman looked at her husband. “I think we need to speak to our children.”

  For once Mr. Pittman wasn’t talking loud or complaining. “I don’t suppose I’ve set a very good example for them.”

  Miss Parker put her hand on Mrs. Pittman’s arm. “Don’t worry. It’s never too late. You have a lovely family. Don’t forget it.”

  Jessie remembered how Monique had given Benny the gold she had panned. Maybe the Pittman kids weren’t totally hopeless after all.

  She was glad Mark and Monique’s part in the “mystery within a mystery” had come to light. But other pieces of the mystery were still in the dark.