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

said, patting his backpack.
    The Aldens found themselves inside a large cave with a high ceiling and plenty of space to move around. Enough light came in from the entrance, so no one was too worried about getting lost.
    “There’s a passageway that goes off to the side,” Henry said when he discovered a tunnel leading from the cave. “We’ll come back another time when we have our tape and rope.”
    “I wonder if anybody else knows about this section of the caves,” Jessie said, looking around. “I forgot to check for footprints before we covered up everything with our own footprints.”
    “Never mind footprints,” Henry said, bending down to get a closer look at the cavern floor. “Look at these holes.”
    The other three children came over to see what Henry was talking about. When Jessie shone the flashlight on the ground, they saw one, two, three huge holes. Each one was surrounded by a mound of mud, small rocks, and dirt.
    Suddenly, Jessie grabbed Henry’s arm. “Did you say something?” she whispered. “I just heard a voice.”
    “I hear two voices,” Violet whispered. “They’re getting closer.”
    Henry pointed to the wall. “Move over there into that crawl space. I’ll turn off my flashlight until we find out who’s down here.”
    In the dark, the Aldens squeezed themselves into a tight space carved into the cave wall. The next thing they heard were footsteps squishing through the nearby tunnel.
    “You and your stupid ideas,” a man’s angry voice said, just a few feet away. “Do you know how many tunnels are down here?”
    The Aldens recognized the second voice they heard. It belonged to Randall Pitt. “Don’t worry, Ed, we’ll find it. He said it’s down here. We just have to be patient.”
    “Patient? After you lost our other shovel and then got us lost, too? What if somebody else finds it first?” Mr. Lyme shouted. “These caves are crawling with people.”
    “Nobody’s looking for what we’re looking for,” Randall Pitt said. “So don’t worry.”
    Before Ed Lyme could answer, Benny felt his nose tickle. He tried not to think about the tickle. “Go away, go away,” he whispered to himself.
    “What did you say, Benny?” Violet whispered.
    “Ah—ah—ah-choo!” Benny cried when he couldn’t hold his sneeze in any longer.
    “What was that?” Mr. Lyme shouted just a few feet away from the Aldens. “Who’s there?”
    The children squeezed together as close as they could and prayed Benny wouldn’t sneeze again.
    “It can’t be those snoopy kids. I figure they were scared off after we pulled up all their tape, cut the rope on the oldest one, and made up that story about a cave-in,” one of the men said, shining his flashlight into the cavern.
    Luckily for the Aldens, the men didn’t see the crawl space the children were hiding in.
    “Come on. Let’s go down to the other end,” Mr. Pitt said. “We already dug here and didn’t find anything.”
    Then the men walked down the tunnel, dragging and scraping a shovel behind them. The Aldens waited several minutes before moving from their hiding space.
    “Whew,” Henry said, stepping out from the crawl space. “They’re gone.”
    “So Mr. Pitt was the one who took down our tape,” Violet said.
    “That was Mr. Pitt all right. And you know who else that was?” Henry pointed his flashlight on the cave floor.
    “Our monster!” Benny answered. “Their big wading boots made the footprints, and the shovel they were dragging made the tail prints.”
    “Good detective work!” Jessie said. “I hope you’re not disappointed. You were hoping there was a monster.”
    “Disappointed? Not me,” Benny said.
    But he was—just a little.

CHAPTER 8
Violet Finds a Treasure
    T he Aldens wriggled out of the cave to have lunch in a warm, sunny spot.
    “Let’s put down our picnic blanket right here,” Henry said. “That way we can keep an eye on this cave.”
    Jessie set out the sandwiches. “What is it about these