Across the room, Maris called out, “Is everyone okay?”
“OOOOOOOOOOOOOH!” The sound came from the other side of the cabin now.
“The ghost!” cried Benny, sounding scared and excited at the same time.
“A screech owl,” said Maris. But her voice was uncertain.
She scrambled out of her sleeping bag and lit one of the candles inside its glass lantern on the table.
Jessie had on one boot and was pulling the other on. Violet was sitting up in her sleeping bag, her eyes wide. Henry was struggling to pull on his thick wool socks.
“OOOOOOOH.” The sound came from the back of the cabin. But this time it wasn’t so loud. It sounded as if it were fading away.
“That’s no screech owl,” Jessie said.
“Let’s go out there! I want to catch the ghost,” Benny said excitedly.
Jessie grabbed her flashlight. “We all do, Benny,” she said. “But you can’t catch anything but a cold if you go outside in the snow without shoes or a coat.”
“Oh, all right,” Benny said.
He ran back to his bunk and stuffed his feet into his boots. By the time he had his coat on, everyone was ready and had their flashlights on. The Aldens raced out of the cabin door into the dark and snowy night.
“Look! Tracks in the snow,” said Violet.
They followed the scramble of tracks around the cabin and all over the clearing as well as they could.
Suddenly Jessie pointed. “That way! The tracks go that way!” she said.
Being careful not to step on the tracks, the Aldens followed the tracks to the stream.
“I think I see more tracks on the other side. I’ll check,” said Jessie. She scrambled nimbly across the rocks while the others waited and watched.
Henry danced from one foot to the other. He could feel the cold snow through his socks. He didn’t dare try to follow the others across the icy-cold stream.
How would he ever get back down the trail?
“The tracks stop here,” Jessie called from the other side of the water.
“No more tracks?” Henry called back.
“Nope. It’s like whoever it was just disappeared,” Jessie reported.
Benny nodded wisely. “Ghosts can do that,” he said. “Stagecoach George probably just flew away.”
“Ghosts don’t leave footprints,” argued Violet. But she looked around nervously.
Maris shivered. “I agree. Even if there was such a thing as a ghost, no ghost made these tracks. Look at them.”
Five flashlights pointed down on the footprints. They were large and deep and smudged along one side.
“Something heavy, with big feet,” said Violet, remembering some of the tracking lessons Maris had given them.
“Right, Violet,” Maris said. “Heavy weight makes deep tracks. And big footprints mean big feet, which usually means a big person.”
Maris knelt and studied the prints some more. “Expensive hiking boots, but not brand-new,” she reported. “Someone’s been hiking in these for a long time.”
“Maybe it’s someone small wearing big boots,” said Jessie. “Someone small in disguise.”
“And it looks like whoever it is might be carrying something heavy” Henry said, forgetting about his own cold, bootless feet for a moment.
“Why?” asked Benny.
“Because the track is uneven,” Henry pointed out. “See how it is smudged and blurred on the left side?”
“Another good observation,” Maris said. “Someone who’s going to be sneaking around in the wilderness in the middle of the night could be carrying a heavy pack with emergency supplies in it.”
“And it’s either packed unevenly, or somehow it got thrown off balance,” Jessie said.
“Right again,” said Maris. Suddenly she shivered. “But let’s get back inside. I’m getting cold.”
Reluctantly, the Aldens returned to the cabin. As they approached, Henry swung his flashlight around the clearing. “The footprints lead into the clearing from the trail,” he noted. “And away from the clearing across the stream. And then they stop. How did he—or she—do that?”
“I know!” exclaimed Jessie. “Maybe the person walked backward in his own steps to the stream and then walked up the stream.”
“Good idea, Jessie,” Maris said. “We’ll check around farther up and downstream tomorrow.”
“If the snow hasn’t covered the tracks,” Henry said. “Or—”
But Henry didn’t finish what he was about to say. Violet’s flashlight beam had stopped on the roof of the cabin.
“Look at that!” Jessie exclaimed.
Henry just stared. He couldn’t believe his eyes!
CHAPTER 9
We’ll Be Coming Down the Mountain
“Your boots!” shouted Benny. “Look!”
Henry’s brown hiking boots were sitting on the cabin roof, right above the door!
Henry walked up to the cabin and stepped onto a stump next to the cabin door. He reached up and took down the boots.
“These are my boots for sure,” he said. “And I don’t think they’ve been here long. There’s hardly any snow on them.”
“But where did they come from?” Violet cried.
“Maybe it’s a joke,” Benny said.
“I don’t think so, Benny,” said Henry. “And I don’t think it was a ghost.”
“Do you think it was whoever was making all that noise?” asked Violet.
“It had to be,” said Jessie. She frowned. “But why? Why would anyone take your boots and then bring them back?”
“Maybe the thief realized that Henry couldn’t hike back down without his boots,” said Benny.
“Oh, no!” gasped Violet. “What if the boot thief took something else?”
They all pushed quickly into the cabin. But nothing had been touched. The cabin was just as they had left it.
“I don’t care who took the boots! I’ve had it,” Maris declared. “We’re going home tomorrow.”
“But what about the trail?” asked Jessie.
“We’ve done as much on the trail as we need to do before the winter snow sets in. And from the looks of things, if we don’t head down the trail soon, winter could trap us here,” said Maris.
“But we haven’t caught the ghost ... or the thief yet,” said Benny. “We will,” said Jessie.
Maris woke the Aldens before the sun was up the next morning. “It looks like it has been snowing off and on all night,” she told them. “We need to get down the mountain while we can.”
They ate quickly then loaded their packs and headed out.
“All the footprints from last night are gone,” said Benny.
“Yep. Whoever’s been bothering us got lucky,” said Henry.
The snow fell and fell as the little group slipped and slid down the side of the mountain. Drifts of snow soon covered the trail and Maris stopped often to make sure that they hadn’t lost their way.
Halfway down, Benny sank onto a rock. “My legs are tired,”he said. “They don’t want to walk anymore.”
“I could carry you,” Henry said.
But Maris shook her head. “Benny’s too heavy for you to carry on this slippery trail,” she said. As she spoke, she pulled out the lightweight ax she carried and began to hack at a small tree by the trail.
“What are you doing?” Jessie asked.
“Building a sort of sled to pull Benny on,” Maris said. Swiftly she cut another tree. “Trim the branches off that tree and I’ll trim this one.”
When the branches were trimmed off both trees, Maris cut one trunk exactly in half. Then she cut the other trunk into four pieces. She laid the two long pieces of wood side by side. She tied the four shorter pieces across the two long pieces, in the middle.
“It looks like a ladder,” said Benny.
“It does,” said Maris. “But it’s your new sled.”
Quickly Maris wove some of the branches in and out of the rungs of the ladder-sled. Last of all, she la
shed her waterproof tarp over the branches.
“Hop on,” she told Benny. “And let’s go.”
Benny climbed onto the sled and grabbed each side. Maris picked up the two poles on the end of the sled facing down the trail and started forward.
“Hold on tight,” she said. Benny and the sled slid over the snow.
Henry and Maris took turns pulling Benny. With Benny in the sled, they could all travel much faster.
They reached the bottom of the trail in the late afternoon. They were all very tired.
“Looks like we’re the last ones out,” said Maris. “Carola’s truck is gone and so’s Rayanne’s car. They must have come out even earlier than we did. I guess the snow buried their footprints.”
“Bobcat’s truck is gone, too,” said Violet.
“At least we know he’s not up on the mountain somewhere,” said Jessie.
“We’ll check in town,” said Maris. “I’m sure Bobcat is fine and there’s a logical reason why he didn’t come back.”
“Whew,” said Henry, helping Benny climb off the sled. “I was getting worried for a while there that we were going to get stuck on Blizzard Mountain.”
“It’s a good thing you built me a sled,” said Benny to Maris. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Benny,” said Maris. “It’s a good way to move something heavy, isn’t it? Especially when it snows.”
“Sort of like a dogsled,” said Jessie.
“Yes,” agreed Maris. She smiled tiredly. “It’s also a good thing you got your boots back, though, Henry. You would have been a lot heavier to pull!”
They climbed into the truck.
“I’m hungry,” Benny announced.
Maris nodded. “Next stop, the diner,” she said. “We can get something to eat. And we can ask about Bobcat.”
Benny pushed the diner door open. “It smells good!” he said. He raced to the counter to sit down.
“Rayanne!” said Jessie in surprise, as she and the others followed Benny. “Did you hike down Blizzard Mountain this morning and then come to work?”
The silver-haired waitress shook her head. “Nope. We hiked back down last night. Carola didn’t like the way the weather looked. Hiking at night. Ha!”
“I guess you didn’t like it,” said Benny.
“You guessed that right,” said the waitress. “What can I get you?”
“Anything but beans,” said Benny.
“Has anyone seen Bobcat?” Maris asked abruptly.
“I haven’t,” said Rayanne. “No one I’ve talked to has.”
“I’m going to go check at the general store and see what I can find out,” said Maris. She slid off her counter stool and walked briskly out.
Jessie fixed Rayanne with a solemn look. “You hiked down the mountain last night?” she asked.
“If I go hiking again, it’s going to be in the summer,” declared Rayanne.
“Next time, you can take that purple opera cape,” said Benny.
“What did you say?” Jessie asked.
“Remember that old purple velvet opera cape that got stolen?” he said. “And people were talking about it here and joking that you could use it to fly down the mountain like a superhero?” Benny flapped his arms. “I just remembered that!” He laughed.
“That’s it,” Jessie whispered. “That’s it!”
“What?” asked Violet.
But before Jessie could answer, the door to the diner opened.
Chuck limped in on his crutches.
“You’re back,” he said to the Aldens. “Did you have a good trip? See any ghosts?”
“Yes,” said Benny.
“No,” said Henry firmly.
“Not exactly,” Jessie added.
“Well, at least you didn’t get trapped in all this snow,” Chuck said. He bent and knocked snow from his boots. “But I guess a little snow won’t hurt these old boots of mine.”
“Maybe you should get new boots,” said Benny, “to go with all your new hiking stuff.”
“New hiking stuff?” Chuck looked at Benny.
“Carola told us when you got lost, it was because you had all new stuff,” Benny said.
Chuck laughed and said, “I think I know what Carola said, and she’s right. New gear isn’t what makes you a good hiker. You have to learn that, just like lessons in school.”
Rayanne put a menu in front of Chuck. He glanced down, then glanced up again. “Where’s your friend Bobcat?” he asked the Aldens.
“He’s missing,” said Jessie. She had a very odd expression on her face.
“Missing?” asked Chuck. He raised his eyebrows. “That’s strange. I just saw him a couple of days ago.”
“You did?” Violet said, her voice going up in surprise.
“Sure. Outside the general store. He was loading supplies into his truck. Said he was on his way back up the mountain to bring them to you,” Chuck said.
“He never hiked back up to bring us those supplies,” Henry said.
Chuck stroked his beard as if trying to remember something. Then he said, “You know, now that I think about it, I did wonder why Bobcat did what he did.”
“What did Bobcat do?” Violet asked.
“He drove in the wrong direction when he left here,” said Chuck. “The opposite direction from Blizzard Mountain.”
Jessie jumped up. “Thanks,” she said. “Come on, everyone. We have to find Maris.” She raced out of the diner.
The other Aldens exchanged surprised looks. Then they followed their sister. They met Maris just outside the door. “Bobcat’s okay,” Jessie said.
“What? How do you know that?” Maris asked.
“How do you know?” asked Henry at the same time.
“Jessie?” Violet said.
“Do you know where Bobcat is?” asked Benny.
“Not exactly, but I’m sure he’s okay. Come on! And I have a plan to catch the ghost that’s been trying to scare us all off Blizzard Mountain,” Jessie said. “This is what we need to do—and why.”
The Aldens walked back into the diner a few minutes later. “Back so soon?” Rayanne asked.
“We’re going to call Grandfather. He’s at Maris’s cabin. We hope he can drive into Blizzard Gap to meet us for dinner,” explained Henry.
“The phone booth is in the hall. I’ll be right back,” said Maris.
The Aldens settled down at a table.
Chuck chewed the hamburger he had ordered. He nodded to the Aldens, then said, “Did you find Bobcat yet?”
“We will. Tomorrow,” said Jessie. “But we can’t look for him now. It’s too dark.”
“I’m sure he’s okay,” Chuck said. “Maybe he had an emergency and had to leave in a hurry.”
“Yes. That’s what probably happened,” agreed Jessie. She turned to Violet and said in a loud voice, “Show me that piece of cloth you found at the cabin, Violet.”
Violet reached into her pocket and pulled out the small scrap of purple cloth.
“Velvet,” said Jessie. “Purple velvet.”
“It looks old,” said Benny.
“Probably been stuck up in the cabin for years,” said Henry. He made sure the others in the diner could hear their conversation.
“Velvet’s a funny thing to find in an old cabin in the woods, don’t you think, Violet?” Jessie asked.
“You’re right,” said Violet.
“Maybe it’s a clue,” said Benny. “To buried treasure.”
Rayanne was standing behind the counter, motionless. Her eyes were fixed on the scrap of velvet Violet held. “Where did you find that?” she demanded.
“Up at the cabin,” said Violet. “Isn’t it pretty?”
Rayanne came around the counter and snatched up the bit of velvet. She stared at it, then slapped it down on the table. She went back to work without another word.
But the Aldens felt her sharp eyes watching them.
Chuck dropped his hamburger and ketchup splashed on his shirt. He grabbed a
napkin and began to poke at the stain.
“Yes, it is a clue,” Benny said, in a louder voice than before. “I bet it’s a clue to where Stagecoach George hid his treasure.”
“In the cabin? Oh, Benny, do you think so?” said Violet.
“I do,” said Benny.
“Well, we should go up there and look,” said Henry. “Maybe Maris will take us up tomorrow.”
Now Chuck dropped the napkin. He bent over to pick it up and straightened. He hit his head on the table. “Ow!” he said.
“Tomorrow. First thing. We go on a treasure hunt,” said Jessie.
“But ... but ... what about Bobcat?” asked Chuck.
“We’ll find the treasure. And maybe Bobcat, too,” said Benny, smiling. “We’re very good at finding things. Ask anybody back in Greenfield.”
Maris came back into the diner. “Your grandfather’s on his way,” she said.
“Good,” said Henry. “We can tell him about this clue we found.”
Violet held up the piece of velvet and nodded. “And about the ghost and how he tried to scare us away and didn’t,” she said. “And about how we’re going to hike right back up Blizzard Mountain to that cabin and look for treasure.”
CHAPTER 10
How to Catch a Ghost
“I’m glad it stopped snowing,” whispered Violet.
“Me, too. And when the sun comes up, it’ll be warmer,” said Jessie.
They were huddled in the little lean-to just off the Blizzard Trail. They’d been there since right before dawn. From where they sat, they could see the trail clearly.
“It didn’t turn out to be much of a snowstorm after all,” Benny complained.
“Shhh, everyone!” Henry warned.
After that, the Aldens were quiet.
“What if this doesn’t work?” Violet said very, very softly.
“Maris is waiting just down the trail at the next big rock,” Henry reminded her. “One way or another, our trap will work.”
“Listen ...” Benny said.
They all grew quiet now. And then they heard it. Something was scraping over snow. Someone was coming down the Blizzard Trail.
Crunch, crunch, crunch went the sound of boots on thin snow.
There was also the sound of something heavy being pulled over that same thin snow. Swish, bump, bump, swish.