儿童英语读物 The Mystery on Blizzard Mountain CHAPTER 8 Someone’s Out There!

Carola looked surprised. “Hiking,” she answered. “What does it look like?”



“I thought you didn’t like hiking,” Violet said to Rayanne.



Rayanne struggled out of her backpack. “Did I say that?” she said. “Well, when Carola told me she was going to hike up this way, I thought I’d give it a try.” She made a face. “But this new backpack I bought is a pain. And so are these shoes.”



“Once they’re broken in, they’ll feel better,” said Carola. A sudden smile creased 1 her face. “It’s the people with all the fancy new stuff that get lost up here. Someone sells them expensive new gear. Tells them it’ll be sure to make them into real wilderness 2 wonders.”



“Like that history teacher who broke his leg,” added Rayanne.



“Chuck,” said Benny.



“Him!” said Carola. “Ha. I’ve never met anybody who went hiking with so much new stuff and so little experience. It’s a wonder he didn’t get more lost!”



Rayanne said, “Well, sounds like he learned his lesson. He keeps warning people to stay away.”



“And talking about ghosts. Ha!” said Carola. “Crazy talk, if you ask me.”



Maris opened the cabin door. “Carola and Rayanne! Hi,” she said. “If you’ve got any extra coffee and are willing to share, we’ll provide the hot water.”



“Sure,” said Carola. “Didn’t you bring enough coffee? I’m surprised at you, Maris.”



“It got stolen,” said Benny. “So did the rest of our food. And Henry’s hiking boots.”



“Did you see Bobcat on the trail?” asked Henry.



“Stolen? What? Did Bobcat steal your food and boots?” asked Rayanne, sounding bewildered.



“No, no, no. It’s a long story,” said Maris. “Come on in.”



As Rayanne and Carola drank coffee, the Aldens ate their oatmeal and told the two newcomers everything that had been happening. When they’d finished, Carola said, “Could’ve been bears that took your food, but it doesn’t sound right. It does sound like you’ve been having a blizzard 3 of bad luck. But then, that goes with this mountain.”



“Did you both just hike up the mountain?” asked Henry.



“Yep. Met Carola at the trailhead this morning, near where Maris’s truck is parked. She waited until my days off at the diner so I could come with her,” Rayanne told them.



“Have you seen any bears?” Violet asked. “We haven’t.”



Carola looked a little embarrassed. “No,” she said shortly.



Everyone was quiet for a moment. Then Rayanne said to Maris, “Is there any reason someone would be out to get you?” she asked.



“No,” said Maris firmly.



But Henry said, “We think someone might be trying to scare us away. Keep a trail from being built on Blizzard Mountain.”



All four Aldens looked hard at Carola.



“Well, that’s interesting,” she said.



Rayanne asked, “Did you find any clues? Footprints, for example? You can tell a lot from footprints. The soles of shoes can tell you almost as much as someone’s fingerprints 4, you know.”



“No. No footprints,” said Jessie regretfully.



Carola put down her coffee cup and stood up. “We’d better get a move on, Rayanne.”



To Maris and the Aldens she said, “And we’ll keep an eye out for anything suspicious. If someone is trying to scare you away and we find out anything, we’ll let you know.”



“Have a good hike,” Maris said. “I’ll walk you to the trail’s edge.” She and Rayanne headed toward the Blizzard Trail.



Carola stopped at the door to look back at the Aldens.



“If someone is trying to scare you off this mountain, maybe you should leave,” she said. “I know I would.”



Then she was gone, too.



“Wow,” said Henry. “Do you think that was a warning?”



“A warning,” said Jessie solemnly, “or a threat.”



“Then Carola is the one who’s trying to scare us off the mountain?” asked Violet.



“I’m not sure. She could be,” said Jessie.



“But she just hiked up here with Rayanne,” said Benny.



“That’s what she said, Benny. She could have been following us, though. And then hiked down to meet Rayanne this morning,” Jessie said.



“Unless it’s Bobcat who’s been trying to scare us,” said Henry.



“Or maybe Bobcat and Carola are working together,” said Jessie.



“What about Rayanne?” Violet suggested. “She asked a lot of questions.”



Benny nodded. “She sounded like one of us. Like a detective.”



“I wonder why she’s up here. She doesn’t even like mountains, remember?” said Henry.



“Maybe she’s pretending she doesn’t like mountains,” Violet said.



“I guess it’s possible, Violet,” Henry said.



Benny said, “I think it’s the treasure. The ghost is trying to keep us away from it.”



Henry frowned. “There’s no such thing as ghosts,” Henry said. “But you might have a point.”



“You think it’s Stagecoach 5 George, too?” Benny asked, looking very surprised.



Jessie and Violet looked startled, too.



“Maybe not a ghost,” said Henry. “But what if someone has found the treasure, or a clue to the treasure? Maybe it’s not a ghost, but a person trying to keep us away.”



Jessie’s eyes sparkled with sudden excitement. “Maybe you’re right, Henry! Remember, in the diner people talked about hikers coming up here to look for the lost treasure. What if someone has found it?”



“But why haven’t they taken it?” asked Violet.



“Because it’s so heavy. Gold is heavy. Maybe they found it and now they have to come back to get it,” said Jessie.



Just then, Maris came back. “Let’s get to work,” she said. “I think this weather could turn bad any day now. We need to get finished up here and get back down the mountain.”



As she walked away, Jessie said to the others, “Maybe we shouldn’t tell Maris about what we talked about. We don’t want to worry her until we’ve figured out the mystery.”



“Oh,” Benny said. “Okay.”



“Who’s going to help me on the trail?” Maris called.



“I will,” said Jessie.



“Since I don’t have any shoes, I guess I’ll work around the cabin,” said Henry.



“Benny and I will stay with you, Henry,” said Violet. “And keep you company.”



“And look for treasure,” said Benny under his breath.



But by late afternoon, the only treasure that had been found was a penny wedged in the floorboards of the cabin and a scrap 6 of purple cloth caught on a splinter of wood near the cabin door. Violet tucked the scrap of purple in her backpack to keep as a souvenir of the trip and Benny put the penny in his pocket.



When Jessie and Maris returned, they were both dusted with snow. Violet showed them the scrap of purple cloth she’d found and Benny told them about his new penny.



Then Jessie said, “I found something, too.” She reached in her pocket and pulled out a handful of small, shiny green leaves.



Benny knew what it was at once. “Wintergreen!” he said.



Maris smiled and said, “Right, Benny. We thought we’d use it to make some hot tea to go with dinner.”



“Dinner,” said Benny at once. “Good!”



After dinner and hot tea, Maris checked to make sure the cabin was locked up tight, windows and doors. Then it was time for bed.



In no time every one of the Aldens had scrambled 8 into a sleeping bag. “I’m going to sleep like a log,” Jessie announced.



No one answered. Everyone had fallen fast asleep, just like that.



And a moment later, Jessie did, too.



But no one slept like a log that night.



“OOOOOOOOOOOOOH!” Something wailed 9 right outside the cabin wall.



Jessie bolted up.



“OOOOOOOOOOOOH!”



“Hey! What’s that?” Benny said.



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 10 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 11 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 7 of tracks around the cabin and all over the clearing as well as they could.



Suddenly Jessie pointed 12. “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 13.



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 14 on the left side?”



“Another good observation,” Maris said. “Someone who’s going to be sneaking 15 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 16, 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 17. “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!