When all the players were settled and had fastened their seatbelts, Coach Warren turned the ignition key. Nothing happened. He frowned and tried again. “That’s funny,” he said. After a third time, he turned to Chuck. “It’s dead. Completely dead.”
Chuck glanced at the gas gauge. It was full. “Why don’t you give it another try?”
After a few more minutes, Coach Warren swiveled around in his seat. “I’m afraid we’ve got a problem, gang. This van isn’t going anywhere.” When everyone groaned, he held up his hand. “Don’t worry, all we need to do is switch vans. Just give me a minute and I’ll get the keys to the red one. It’s a little smaller, but at least it’ll get us there.” When he disappeared into the office. Benny sighed. “You don’t think this happened because Stockings is missing, do you? Maybe we’re in for a string of bad luck.”
“Of course we’re not,” Violet reassured him. “Every thing is going to be fine. We’ll switch vans and we’ll be on the road in a few minutes. You’ll see.”
Except it wasn’t that simple. When Coach Warren reappeared a few minutes later, his face was red. “I can’t understand it,” he said, when Chuck hopped out of the blue van to meet him. “I can’t find the keys.”
“They’re on the hook by the door,” Benny said. He had noticed that the coach always kept them there.
“Not this time,” Coach Warren said. He thought for a moment. “When’s the last time you saw them there, Benny?”
Benny shrugged. “Maybe yesterday or the day before. But not today.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.” Coach Warren scratched his head. “I don’t understand what could have happened to them.”
“Have you checked your pockets?” Henry asked.
The coach turned his pockets inside out but there was no sign of the missing keys. He turned to Chuck. “Did you happen to notice them this morning?”
“I haven’t been in the office,” Chuck said.
Wait a minute — that’s not true, Jessie thought silently. She had noticed Chuck coming out of the office when she crossed the field. Had he forgotten? Or was he lying? She closed her eyes and tried to remember exactly what she had seen. Yes, she decided. The sun had been in her eyes, but she had seen Chuck walking out of the office with someone right behind him. Who was it? Suddenly the figure came into focus in her mind. It was Mr. Jackson. Both of them had been in the office. Could one of them have taken the keys? But why?
“We’ll have to find those keys,” the coach muttered. “And if they don’t turn up, we’ll have to get this van started.”
When Chuck and Coach Warren went back into the office to search again for the keys, Henry opened the hood on the van.
“What are we looking for?” Nicole asked, peering at the engine. “I wonder if the van needs oil . . . ” Henry suddenly gasped. “Look at this!” he pointed to a jagged set of cables. Someone had sliced right through them!
“What is it?” Michael and Jessie hurried over.
“Someone’s cut the cables to the battery,” Henry explained. “No wonder the engine wouldn’t start.”
“But who would do something like that?” Violet was shocked. She couldn’t believe that anyone would really want to hurt the team. The thefts were one thing, but now a whole game was at stake!
Henry showed Chuck and Coach Warren what he had discovered. “It’s hard to believe,” the coach said as he stood peering at the jagged ends of battery cable.
“I guess there’s no way it could have happened accidentally?” Jessie said softly.
“I’m afraid not.” Chuck shook his head.
“Looks like someone doesn’t want us to get to Clarksville,” Coach Warren remarked.
“Could it be someone on the Pirates team?” Michael asked.
“No chance of that.” The coach took off his baseball cap and wiped his brow. “I talked to Coach Evert last night, and they can’t wait to beat the pants off us.” He smiled grimly. “They’re already planning a victory pizza party for after the game.”
Benny was angry. “How do they know they’re going to win? We’ve got the best team around!”
“I think so, too, Benny,” Coach Warren said. “But we can’t prove it if we can’t get to the game.”
“How about your pickup truck, Chuck,” the coach said suddenly.
“My truck?” Chuck looked doubtful. He glanced at the truck parked at the edge of the field. But then he brightened. “All right. We can’t miss our first game.”
Coach Warren slapped Chuck on the back. “Okay, team, let’s a get a move on. We’ve got a game to play!”
Henry helped Chuck unload the equipment from the van and hand it to the players. “Two people can sit up front with me,” Chuck announced, “and everyone else can pile in the back. There’s a couple of blankets back there. Spread them on the bed of the truck so you don’t get dirty.”
Within minutes the truck was loaded, and Susan was wedged in between Jessie and Violet in the back of the truck. “Aren’t you coming with us, Coach?” Jessie asked in surprise.
“I want to wait around for the road service. I called them when the van wouldn’t start. Don’t worry,” he added. “Chuck will take good care of you, and I’ll get to Clarksville in plenty of time.”
Chuck made a thumbs-up gesture and pulled smoothly out onto the highway. “This is fun,” Benny said, leaning against Violet. It was a warm day, and he loved to ride in the open air.
“Anybody hungry?” Susan asked. “Besides you, Benny,” she added, and everyone laughed. She opened a large plastic bag of brownies and passed it around.
“These are great,” Violet said, biting into one. “Where did they come from?”
“My aunt made them,” Susan replied. “She dropped them off before we started loading the van.”
They had been driving for over half an hour, when Chuck suddenly pulled to the side of the road.
“What’s wrong?” Nicole asked. Henry slid out of the front seat. “Chuck just wants to study the map,” he explained.
“You mean we’re lost?” Benny wailed. “I knew it. It’s all because Stockings is missing.”
“We’re not lost, Benny,” Chuck said. He spread open the map on the hood of the truck. “I just need to get my bearings.”
“Where are we?” Nicole asked. They were on a dusty country road, bounded by farmland. In a nearby field, a group of black and white cows stared at them curiously.
“I don’t know for sure,” Chuck admitted.
“That means we’re lost,” Benny whispered.
“Do you know if we’re even on the right road to Clarksville?” Violet asked. She was already nervous about the upcoming game, and it seemed like they were in the middle of one disaster after another!
“Not really,” Chuck admitted.
“Maybe Coach Warren is already there,” Michael said. “Maybe he’s wondering where we are.”
Chuck groaned. “I hope not.” He held the map up and stared at a rusty road sign. “Route seven,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s not even on the map.”
“Could we retrace our steps?” Henry suggested. “I think we left the main highway about ten minutes ago. Remember when we passed the fruit stand? We could go back there and get directions.”
“Good idea,” Chuck agreed. “I just hope we can find it.”
They piled back into the truck, and Jessie glanced at her watch. They had been on the road for forty-five minutes and Chuck didn’t even know where they were! And now they were heading for a fruit stand that might be impossible to find. How could so many things go wrong?
She looked at Benny, who had his eyes tightly closed. “What’s wrong?” she whispered.
“I’m sending a secret message to Stockings wherever he is,” Benny said softly. “We need a mascot right now.”
Nicole overheard the conversation and smiled. “Tell Stockings we’re counting on him,” she said. She shifted her weight as the truck bounced along the bumpy road. “Because I’ve got t
he feeling that it’s going to be a long, long way to Clarksville!”
CHAPTER 7
Play Ball!
“Just play your best,” Coach Warren said an hour later as the team huddled around him. “That’s all anybody expects of you.” The van had been fixed and he’d made it to Clarksville before the others.
Chuck had gotten lost three more times, but the Bears had finally arrived, and the big game was about to begin. Everyone’s nerves were on edge.
“And be a good sport, whether you win or lose,” Chuck added. Jessie nodded, but she was beginning to wonder if the game was doomed from the start. So many things had gone wrong! She nervously checked out the opposing team. They all looked so confident! A girl close to her own age was taking practice swings with her bat, and the pitcher was throwing pitches to the catcher.
“They look pretty good, don’t they?” Nicole said under her breath. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was feeling a little nervous. Would doing her best be good enough?
Coach Warren had assigned their positions at the last practice. Jessie was at first base, Ann at second, and Michael at third. Susan was playing shortstop. A boy named Tom was pitching and his brother Steve was catching. Nicole and Violet were in the outfield with a boy named Bobby.
The Pirates were batting first, so the Bears ran to take their places on the field.
Once the game got under way, Violet felt some of her nervousness vanish. The Bears played well, and soon it was their turn to bat. When Violet came up to bat, she was thrilled to hear a satisfying crack as the bat hit the ball. Henry had told her that there was no other sound in the world quite like it, and he was right!
Violet watched as the ball flew out toward center field, and she raced around the bases. Rounding first base she saw Coach Warren waving her on. She headed to second base and saw that the center fielder hadn’t caught the ball, so she ran hard to third base. As she reached third she saw that the center fielder had thrown to second base, and the second baseman had dropped the ball. Violet took a deep breath and ran as hard as she could. As she tagged home plate she heard her teammates cheering. She’d hit a home run!
Jessie’s big moment at first base came late in the game. The Pirate batter hit a hard grounder along the first base line. Jessie charged into action. She snatched up the ball and stepped on first base just before the runner.
“Way to go, Jessie!” Chuck yelled from the sidelines. She looked over and saw him give her the thumbs-up sign. I did it! she thought happily. Suddenly what Coach Warren said earlier made sense. It didn’t really matter if the Bears won or lost. All she had to do was do her best!
As the game went on, it was obvious that the Pirates had more experience than the Bears, and had practiced a lot. The Bears managed to keep up at first, but in the last inning the Pirates scored two runs to win the game.
The final score was Bears 5, Pirates 7. The two coaches shook hands, and the Bears headed toward the van.
“You mean that’s it? It’s over?” Benny said. He looked sad.
“Don’t worry, Benny,” Henry said. “We can always play them again.” He took a long swig of water from Benny’s bottle.
“I wanted us to win now,”Benny said. He immediately thought of Stockings. He knew everything would have turned out differently if his mascot had been with them.
“You should feel good about yourselves,” Coach Warren said as they piled into the van. “You did a great job, especially for your first real game.”
“I made a ton of mistakes,” Jessie said.
“Me too,” said Nicole.
“That’s okay. A good player learns from her mistakes. She practices harder to keep from making the same mistakes again. And that’s what I expect you to do.”
“I think he just said that to make us feel better,” Nicole said to Chuck when Coach Warren moved away.
“No, he really means it,” Chuck said seriously. “We all make mistakes, and hey, what would baseball be without errors and strikeouts?”
“Even big-name players strike out,” Henry pointed out. “Nobody’s perfect.”
The next morning, the Aldens arrived at the dugout early, and Benny headed for the locker room. He was surprised to see Mr. Jackson fumbling with the combination lock on his locker.
“Oh, hello, Benny,” Mr. Jackson said nervously, smoothing his gray hair. “I didn’t hear you come in.” He quickly moved away from the locker and wiped his hands on his overalls.
“What are you doing?” Benny asked curiously.
“Just checking the lockers,” Mr. Jackson answered. He tried to smile, but his voice was tense.
“What for?” Benny persisted.
Mr. Jackson avoided looking at him. “Well, I . . . I’m thinking of repainting them,” he stammered. “The paint’s getting pretty chipped in spots, you know.”
Benny looked at the gleaming row of bright green lockers and frowned. Chuck had told him that the lockers had been freshly painted a few months ago! Was Mr. Jackson lying to him? Was he really trying to break into his locker?
Later that morning, Jessie stopped to refill her water bottle and saw Mr. Jackson deep in conversation with Mrs. Sealy.
“I can’t wait to see the look on Coach Warren’s face,” Mr. Jackson said.
“Neither can I,” Mrs. Sealy agreed. “He’s going to be in for the shock of his life.”
Chuck blew his whistle just then, signaling the end of break time, and Jessie returned to the playing field. Were Mr. Jackson and Mrs. Sealy plotting something? Mrs. Sealy called it “the shock of his life.” Were they going to do something that would embarrass Coach Warren? Surely neither one of them would have any reason to sabotage the team, would they? But what was the big secret? Jessie thought about it all morning, and couldn’t come up with any answers.
It wasn’t until they were eating lunch at the long picnic table that Nicole nudged her. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “You’re so quiet!”
Jessie hesitated. Was this the right time to bring up what was really bothering her? She glanced around the table. Only Nicole and Michael had joined the Aldens for lunch. The others had preferred to sit under the shade of a giant elm tree. Maybe if they all put their heads together, they could come up with an explanation.
“I think we need to clear the air,” she said softly, and everyone turned to look at her. “There’ve been some strange things going on lately . . . ” she began.
“I’ll say,” Benny interrupted her. “Someone’s been going around stealing teddy bears!” He missed Stockings and continued to look for him every day.
“I know, Benny,” she said sympathetically, “but I’m talking about more than just teddy bears.”
“Weird things have been happening right from the start,” Henry spoke up. “Remember when Ann’s bat was missing and ended up in Susan’s locker?”
“And that was just the beginning,” Violet said. “Jessie’s glove was taken, and someone tried to trick her with a phony one.”
“I never did get back my glove,” Jessie said.
“I think it will turn up.” Nicole gently squeezed her friend’s arm.
“Yeah, maybe the same person who took your glove took Stockings,” Benny piped up. “Maybe they’ll feel so bad about taking them, that they’ll return them both.”
“And we nearly missed the game with the Pirates yesterday because so many things went wrong.” Michael looked serious. “First someone cut the cables to the van, and then the keys were missing.”
“Plus Chuck got lost a lot out in the country,” Violet reminded him. “I’m surprised we made it there in time.”
“Do you think it’s just a string of coincidences?” Nicole asked. She took a bite of her sandwich. It seemed hard to believe that someone would really want to sabotage the team.
“I think it’s more than that,” Henry said. “So many things have happened that it seems like more than just a run of bad luck.”
“Something else happened at the game,” Michael said su
ddenly. “I didn’t think of it before, but did anyone notice number thirty-eight on the Pirates team? A short kid with sandy hair?”
“I think I did,” Benny said. “What about him?”
“I’ve seen him before.” Michael paused and looked around the table. “All of us have. He was buying a soft drink with Chuck the other day in the store.”
“That’s right!” Violet burst out. “I knew he looked familiar!”
“But what does that mean?” Jessie asked. “Do you think Chuck is involved somehow in everything that’s gone wrong?”
“I hate to think so,” Henry told her.
Jessie nodded. “He said he hadn’t been in the office when the keys were missing, but he was lying. I saw him walk out of the office a few minutes earlier, and Mr. Jackson was with him.”
“Wow,” Benny said softly. “Mr. Jackson might be involved, too.”
“Why do you say that, Benny?” Henry asked.
Benny told them about Mr. Jackson snooping around his locker that morning.
“There’s something else you don’t know,” Jessie said. “I heard a really strange conversation between Mr. Jackson and Mrs. Sealy this morning. It sounded like they were planning a surprise for Coach Warren — but not the kind of surprise you’d look forward to,” she said grimly.
“Mrs. Sealy said she hates baseball, but she’s always around,” Nicole pointed out.
Violet frowned. “A lot of things about her don’t make sense.” Suddenly she remembered something else. “Remember when we saw her in the store that day and she said she hadn’t been on the playing field? She wasn’t telling us the truth! I know she’d been over here. She had red mud all over her shoes.”
“You know, she must have been here when the van keys were missing, too,” Nicole added.
“How do you know that?” Michael asked.
Nicole leaned forward eagerly. “Because Susan passed around a bag of brownies in the truck. She said her aunt had dropped them off for us that morning.”
“That’s right!” Jessie said. “So now we have three suspects, Chuck, Mrs. Sealy, and Mr. Jackson.” She paused. “But I still can’t figure out why any one of them would want to hurt the team.”