“Our dog, Watch, is a good tracker,” Benny said. “He tracked us when we lived in the woods.”
C.D. scratched Tracker’s head before the dog went back to his nap spot under the desk. “Sometimes people find dogs, and sometimes dogs find people. Bring Watch in sometime. Anyway, how do you like the look of this dragon so far? Too scary?”
“No way!” Benny answered.
C.D. sat down in front of his computer again. He fiddled with some controls and did some amazing art tricks on-screen. “How about this?” he asked after he added a pair of pink wings to the dragon.
“Now he’s a nice dragon,” Soo Lee said.
C.D. offered each of the Aldens a turn at the computer. They turned Morka into a fish-faced dragon, then a cat-faced dragon, then back to a scary dragon again.
“Maybe Morka can be a dragon that changes all the time,” Violet suggested, “depending on what’s happening in the game.”
C.D. gave Violet a big smile. “Great idea! We’ll be trying a lot of new things on Ringmaster III after this game is sent out to the stores. Jane Driver came up with something no other game has—it’s top secret right now.”
The next thing everyone heard was a crash nearby.
“What on earth was that?” C.D. asked.
C.D. walked over to the next workstation. A tall, dark-haired man was picking up papers, photos, and computer disks that had fallen to the floor.
“Is everything okay, Ned?” C.D. asked. “That was quite a racket.”
The man’s face was angry-looking. “Talk about racket! I’ll tell you what’s a racket—a pack of kids running around an office.”
This didn’t much bother C.D. “Hold your horses, Ned. You know this place isn’t a library.”
“It’s not a playground, either,” Ned said. “A man can’t get a minute’s quiet here.”
C.D. chuckled. “Now, Ned. You know QuestMaster is part playground, part office. After all, what are we designing here? Games for kids. Now take a break, okay? You’ve been working too hard. Come meet the Aldens. According to their grandfather, they’ve got a reputation for solving problems and mysteries. Kids, meet one of our head designers, Ned Porter. He’s responsible for a lot of great ideas in Ringmaster I and II.”
Ned Porter brushed right by the Aldens.
“Should we go home?” Jessie asked.
C.D. laughed. “No way! Ned’s been kind of grumpy lately. I wish I knew what was bothering him. Maybe he’s just been working too hard. Now let’s go back to my computer so you can try out Ringmaster II. That’s why I brought you here.”
When it was nearly five o’clock, the children had been exploring Ringmaster II for a few hours.
“So what do you think of our new game so far?” C.D. asked.
“Amazing,” Henry said. “There are a lot of new features and characters.”
C.D. beamed. “Glad you like it. Wait until next year when you get a look at Ringmaster III. We’re experimenting right now with that new feature Jane Driver came up with.”
The children held their breath. Maybe this time C.D. would let them in on the big secret.
“Sorry, guys,” C.D. told them. “I can’t tell you what it is. If Jane and I work out all the bugs, Ringmaster III is going to bring computer games to a whole new level, just you wait.”
Benny rocked back and forth on his sneakers. “I can’t wait.”
C.D. smiled at the Aldens. “One thing you don’t have to wait for is that computer I promised you. Follow me. Your grandfather is probably waiting at our loading dock now.”
“This looks like a computer store,” Jessie said when C.D. led the children to a storage room packed with computers.
“These are practically brand-new,” C.D. explained. “We replaced them because all the artwork we’ve been doing on Ringmaster II soaks up a lot more power.” He walked up and down the room. “Now, where’s the one I set aside for you?”
With the Aldens trailing behind, C.D. turned down another aisle. When he did, he nearly bumped into Jane Driver.
“Whoa, Jane!” C.D. said. “What are you doing in here?”
Jane looked flustered when the Aldens crowded around her. “The sound card on my new computer isn’t working. I was going to remove the one from my old machine.”
C.D. looked puzzled. “Sorry, Jane. You really can’t do that. Just ask Ned to help you figure out how to use the new card. I want all these computers I’m donating to the high school to go out fully equipped. Your old one is going to the Aldens. They’ll need the sound card for testing out parts of Ringmaster II.”
Jane’s face grew red. “But ...”
C.D. grew a bit impatient. “Look, Jane, please go find Andy Porter now. I need him to carry the monitor out to Mr. Alden’s car, and that’s that.”
Jane seemed frozen in place.
“The sound card should stay in this machine,” C.D. repeated. “Now please find Andy for us.”
A long time seemed to pass before Jane moved. When she finally left, she pushed the swinging doors so hard they swung back and forth several times before coming to a stop.
CHAPTER 3
Eavesdropping
When the Aldens arrived at the loading dock, Grandfather was already there. He opened his car trunk so C.D. and Henry could put the computer and keyboard inside.
Jessie found the Aldens’ old picnic blanket and wrapped it around the equipment. “That’ll keep everything from bumping around back here,” she told Grandfather. “We can put the monitor on the other side so it doesn’t slip and slide.”
C.D. checked his watch. “Where is that monitor, anyway? Andy Porter should have been here by now. I hope Jane gave him my message. Why don’t you kids run back to the storage area and look around for Andy. Maybe he needs some help.”
“Don’t you mean Ned Porter?” asked Benny.
“Andy is Ned’s son. They’re both computer whizzes, and they both work here,” said C.D.
The Aldens headed inside. As they got closer to the computer storage room, they overheard two people arguing.
“Dad! You can’t let that happen. It’s not fair,” one person said.
“Stay out of it,” a second person answered. “I’ll take care of things.”
Jessie signaled to Henry to turn around. The children tiptoed out, wondering what the argument was about.
“Any luck?” C.D. asked when the Aldens reappeared without Andy. “Oh, there he is, right behind you.”
The children whirled around. Standing behind them was a teenage boy about Henry’s age. Andy looked very much like his father, dark-haired, tall, and serious. On a hand truck in front of him was a large computer monitor box.
“Thanks for getting our monitor,” Henry told Andy. “I’m Henry. These are my sisters, Jessie and Violet, my brother, Benny, and our cousin, Soo Lee.”
Andy smiled shyly. Without a word, he rolled the hand truck and the monitor down the ramp where C.D. and Mr. Alden were standing.
“What took so long, Andy?” C.D. asked.
The boy didn’t answer right away. “I ... uh ... couldn’t find an empty box right away. Sorry.”
C.D. smiled at the boy. “Meet Mr. Alden.”
“Glad to meet you, young man,” Mr. Alden said. “Charles has told me what a valuable worker you are. I’m sure my grandchildren can learn a lot from you.”
The Aldens couldn’t tell if Andy thought this was a compliment or not. He seemed confused at being surrounded by so many strangers. “Is it true that your grandchildren are good at solving mysteries?” he asked quietly. “My father told me C.D. said they were.”
“They have solved more than a few,” Grandfather said, “but I think they’ve moved on to figuring out computer games.”
C.D. grinned at Grandfather in reply and helped Andy load the computer box into the trunk. “Andy works part-time keeping track of our equipment,” C.D. began. “But he gets as much done as many of my full-time workers. Plus he’s an ace on computers, to boot.”
/> When Benny heard this, he laughed. “I know how to boot the computer. That means starting it up.”
C.D. gave Benny a friendly shoulder punch. “Good for you. That’s exactly what booting up means. Well, now you Aldens have some pretty up-to-date equipment. You can boot up parts of Ringmaster II and get onto our network as well. Just let me know by e-mail if you find anything strange.”
“The Aldens are going to be on the QuestMaster network?” Andy asked.
C.D. nodded. “Some parts of it, like e-mail. They’ll be looking for bugs and testing out some of the new things we’re introducing in Ringmaster II.”
“But—but I thought everything was a secret,” Andy said, looking confused again.
C.D. laughed. “Not much longer, Andy. We just have to work out those bugs. And I need some real live children to run through the game before we do the final version.”
Andy’s face grew red. “I thought that’s why you hired me.”
C.D. gave Andy an encouraging smile. “It is, but you already know the game so well. Plus I need you to keep the machines running tip-top. But we need younger kids, too. Violet, Benny, and Soo Lee are just the right ages to try out all the levels of the game and make sure the clues are easy to follow.”
Benny just had to speak up when he heard this. “Soo Lee and I figure out hard clues, too, not just easy ones.”
“I told Benny not to let the boy in the game drink the juice,” Soo Lee added. “It was poison.”
Everyone but Andy Porter laughed.
C.D. stared at Andy for a few seconds. “I’m counting on you to get the Aldens’ computer set up for them. Now let’s lift this monitor into Mr. Alden’s car.”
Andy did as he was told. He even did something he wasn’t told. While C.D. chatted with Mr. Alden and the children after they got into the car, Benny watched Andy from the backseat. After a few minutes, he whispered to Soo Lee, “Let’s go see what Andy’s doing.” Quietly they got out of the car.
When Soo Lee and Benny crept up behind Andy, he was unwrapping the computer. He took out a small flashlight and looked at the back.
Benny was curious about what Andy was up to. “Whatcha doing?”
Andy jumped back, nearly bumping his head on the station wagon’s rear door. He didn’t answer Benny or Soo Lee right away.
“How come you’re doing that? Is something wrong with the computer?”
“I needed to check something,” Andy whispered. “It’s easier for me to concentrate if I’m by myself. I’m almost done, so you can get back in the car.”
Benny and Soo Lee quietly returned to the car and buckled themselves in.
Mr. Alden started the car. He checked the rearview mirror. “I guess Andy is all done with whatever he was doing.”
“He was just packing up,” C.D. told Mr. Alden as he stepped away from the driver’s window.
“He had a teeny flashlight—” Soo Lee piped up from the backseat.
“And—and ...” Benny interrupted. “And he was looking at the back of the computer and everything.”
“Hmm,” C.D. said before going around to the back of Mr. Alden’s car. “Andy, any problems with this computer?”
The children turned around. They saw Andy put his hands in his pockets. He didn’t quite look at C.D. “Uh ... no. It’s just that ... well, since Jane Driver only used this computer a short time, I thought we ... uh ... we were keeping it. She took it home last week, so I didn’t get a chance to check it with the others.”
This didn’t bother C.D. a bit. “No problem. I’ll send you around to the Aldens’ if they need help. Mind you, Mr. Alden says Henry and Jessie can probably handle any difficulties.”
Andy suddenly seemed to remember something. “I’ll help the Aldens set up this one tomorrow.”
The children had other ideas.
“Jessie and I like fooling with computers, too,” Henry told Andy out the car window. “We probably won’t need you to come over. We should be okay. But thanks for the offer.”
“Yeah, well, our computer software and games aren’t as easy to set up as they look,” Andy said. “I’ll come over to help you.”
“You don’t know my grandchildren, Andy,” Mr. Alden said. “They’ll stay up all night trying to solve a problem before they’ll call for help. But you’re welcome to come by our place anytime just for fun. By the way, how are you at checkers?”
Andy Porter looked confused by all these Aldens and their questions, but he smiled anyway. “I have the highest score at QuestMaster on computer checkers.”
Mr. Alden shook his head. “Is there anyone left who still likes a nice quiet game of old-fashioned checkers?”
“I do, Grandfather,” Violet answered. “Let’s have a game when we get home.”
At those words, Mr. Alden pulled away from the loading dock. “So long, C.D. So long, Andy.”
C.D. waved, but Andy Porter had already disappeared into the building.
“Maybe Andy wanted the computer C.D. gave us for himself,” Henry said.
“Only now we have it,” Benny added. “Because we’re the Ringmasters.”
CHAPTER 4
Whispers at Breakfast
Mr. Alden had to wait for his game of checkers. The children spent the whole evening getting their new computer up and running.
The next morning, they went straight to the computer before breakfast.
“Looks like another day of playing solitaire, not checkers,” Grandfather said when the children disappeared into the den. He was smiling, though. Mr. Alden always enjoyed watching his grandchildren’s excitement over a new project.
In no time Jessie had Ringmaster I up and running just to see how fast it worked on the new computer. “Wow, this is super-fast. We could have become Ringmasters sooner on this new one.”
Henry and Jessie tested out the QuestMaster network next.
“Hey, we’ve got mail,” Jessie said when she heard the computer beep. “It’s from Andy. He must have sent this overnight.” She clicked open the e-mail and read it aloud to the other children:
“I’ll be over in the morning to set up all the software and games you need.”
Soo Lee tugged at Henry’s elbow. “Andy is too late, right, Henry? You and Jessie did it all by yourselves.”
Henry smiled at Soo Lee. “Not by ourselves. Everybody helped.”
The next thing the children heard was Watch barking. Benny scooted after Watch. “Somebody’s at the door.”
Mrs. McGregor was already there, talking to someone. “I’ll go check with the children. Were they expecting you?”
“Hi, Andy,” Benny said when he saw Andy Porter standing in the doorway
“Hi, Benny. Did you get my e-mail?” Andy asked. “I came over to get everything going like C.D. asked me to.”
By this time Soo Lee had followed Benny out to the hallway. “My cousins know everything. They put Ringmaster I and II on the computer. Henry’s trying Ringmaster II now. It’s very hard but not too hard for Henry.”
“What’s the matter?” Benny asked when he noticed that Andy looked upset.
“I wish they hadn’t installed the game without me,” Andy said. “They could have made a lot of mistakes.”
“Henry and Jessie hardly ever make mistakes,” Benny said. “Want to see?”
Benny and Soo Lee led Andy into the den. Henry and Jessie were glued to the computer. Up on the screen, Morka the dragon was breathing flames at the onscreen children.
“You won’t let the boy and girl get burned, right?” Soo Lee asked Henry.
Henry kept his hand on one of the keys and his eyes on the screen. “Don’t worry about that, Soo Lee. Now, just watch.”
Watch thumped his tail under the desk.
“No, silly,” Soo Lee said to Watch. “Henry means watch the screen.”
With one click, Henry sent a storm cloud chasing after Morka. Rain poured from the cloud onto Morka’s flaming breath. The dragon melted into a big green puddle. The boy and girl and Track
er were safe!
“Good for you, Henry,” Jessie said. When she turned around, she was surprised to see Andy standing there. “Andy! We read your e-mail. I guess you didn’t get our answer in time. We could have saved you a trip. As you can see, we got the new computer and everything going—even the QuestMaster programs, the same ones you use at work.”
Andy was so busy looking over Jessie’s shoulder, he didn’t seem to hear what she said. “Well, I ... uh ... needed to come over anyway. We just made some adjustments on the game, and I came over to add a couple of new features to Ringmaster II. It’ll just take me a minute to reprogram the changes.”
Jessie and Henry looked at each other. They were proud that they had set up the computer all by themselves. They didn’t know quite what to do now that Andy was here.
“C.D. said to come over, remember?” Andy said.
Jessie moved off her chair, and Andy took her place.
Henry didn’t move.
Andy wriggled in the chair. “Know what? It’s hard for me to work when people are watching. When I’m done, though, I bet you’ll want to check out everything again.”
“But Grandfather says that’s how we learn, by watching,” Benny said.
Andy’s ears got nearly as red as his Ringmaster T-shirt.
“It’s okay, Andy,” Henry said finally. “We’ll go have breakfast while you’re fixing things.”
“Mrs. McGregor is fixing things, too,”
Jessie said to cheer everyone up, including Andy. “She made waffles. Let’s get some in the kitchen. When you’re done with the computer, Andy, take a left down the hallway. Just follow the waffle smell to find the kitchen.”
She smiled at Andy, but he didn’t even look up from the computer.
At breakfast Mrs. McGregor set down an extra plate. “Where’s your friend?”
“Working on the computer,” Henry whispered. “We invited him for breakfast, but he didn’t answer.”
Benny looked up at Mrs. McGregor. “If he doesn’t eat his waffles, may I have seconds?”