Mystery in the Cave by Charles Tang Read Free Book Online Page A

car our first night here.”
    Benny tapped Jessie’s arm. “And what about that car we saw the first night when the rocks fell on our cabin? Maybe it was this car.”
    “Right,” Henry said. “The engine sounded the same. Very loud.”
    When the children reached the coffee shop, Henry opened the door for the others to go in first. “Let’s ask Mr. Howe about that green car. He’ll know.”
    “Howdy, Aldens,” Mr. Howe said when he saw the children. “I hope you’re in the mood for apple pie. I made an extra today.”
    “Good thing,” Benny said. “Apple pie is what we came for.”
    Mr. Howe returned shortly with five glasses of milk and a big slice of pie to go with each one. “Hope you don’t mind if I join you. I like some pie and a glass of cold milk before I go on duty at the registration desk.”
    Henry didn’t even look at his pie. He had to find out about that fast green car. “Do any of your guests have a green car?”
    Mr. Howe finished a bite before answering. “I’m not sure.”
    “How about a dented old green car with a very loud engine that goes too fast? It nearly ran us over,” Henry said.
    Mr. Howe banged down his fork so hard the Aldens jumped. “Darn that Mr. Pitt! I told him and Mr. Lyme to slow down around here, especially at night. The speed limit’s five miles an hour inside the motor court. I can’t have them scaring my other guests!” With that, Mr. Howe forgot all about his pie and slid out from the booth. “I’m going over to their cabin right now and put a note on their door. They can find another place to stay in the morning!”
    From the window, the Aldens watched Mr. Howe stomp down the road toward the cabins.
    “Maybe we’ve seen the last of them and their old green car,” Henry said before finally digging into his pie.
    Benny and Violet were quiet the next morning as they hiked down Little Nose Cliff.
    “I’m glad we’re not going caving today,” Violet said quietly. “Something always happens down there. I didn’t like being lost yesterday.”
    “That’s okay,” Henry said. “We’ll go rock hunting instead. Maybe today’s the day we’ll find a Rockville diamond.”
    Jessie read from Benny’s rock book. “It says here to look for sections of rock that are different from the rest. Do you see anything like that, Henry?”
    “Here and there,” Henry answered. “Why don’t I let Benny and Violet chisel away at those spots? We’ll find a Rockville diamond yet.”
    But the Aldens had no luck. If there were any Rockville diamonds buried in the rock, they missed them. No matter how much the children hammered away, they didn’t chip off anything but plain old rock.
    Seeing Violet and Benny’s disappointment, Henry walked quite a few yards ahead to check farther down. As he was moving along the rock, he felt a cool breeze. Right away he knew what that meant. “Hey, another cave!” Henry yelled back to his brother and sisters. “We just have to move some of these loose rocks and dirt out of the way.”

    “It’s a good thing I packed work gloves,” Jessie said, when she and the others caught up with Henry. “It’ll be easier to clear out the entrance so we can go inside.”
    With their hands, the Aldens scooped out a pile of rocks, stones, and dirt. When they were done, they found a foot-wide opening.
    “That cool breeze from inside feels good,” Jessie said, wiping her forehead with her bandana. “Look, there’s plenty of room to get through if we go in sideways.”
    In the excitement of discovering a new cave, Violet and Benny soon forgot about getting lost the day before.
    “Hey, neat!” Benny cried after he squeezed inside. “This is like a skinny doorway instead of a hole in the ground.”
    “I’m just going to tie this bandana to a branch outside,” Jessie said before joining the others. “Just in case. We won’t go in too far since we don’t have any of our caving equipment with us.”
    “Except for one flashlight,” Henry