Mystery of the Lost Mine by Charles Tang Read Free Book Online Page B

silver Airstream. “Maybe somebody does. Let’s go ask Mr. Tobias if he saw the Clarks leave.”
    But when he knocked on the trailer door, there was no reply.
    “Mr. Tobias?” Benny called. “Are you in there?”
    Still no response.
    “He must be in there,” Luis said. “He never goes anywhere. And his car is still attached to the trailer.”
    “I guess he’s asleep,” Violet suggested. She turned her head as the wind whipped dust into her face. “Look!”
    A shiny black car pulled up to the main office. A man in a white shirt and striped tie got out and strode to the door. When he saw the office was empty, he walked over to the restaurant.
    The Aldens went inside the restaurant, where the man was questioning Janine.
    “I told you, I don’t know where they are,” Janine insisted, furiously wiping the counter with a rag. “If I did, I’d have the law on them. They could be anywhere.”
    “Well, you won’t mind if I look around the campground,” the man told her.
    “Suit yourself.”
    Outside, the man stalked around the campground, peering into trailer windows.
    “He’s sure suspicious,” Benny said. “Does he think the Clarks are hiding in another trailer?”
    “I wonder why he wants Mr. and Mrs. Clark,” Jessie said.
    “Let’s look for Tom,” Henry said. “Maybe he knows what’s going on around this camp.”
    Luis pointed to a low building behind the recreation center. “That’s the bunkhouse. Maybe he’s in his room.”
    The wind storm grew worse as they crossed the parking lot. The door to the bunkhouse banged open and shut like a broken shutter.
    “I guess Tom forgot to lock the door this morning,” Henry said. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he yelled, “Tom! Are you in there?”
    The wind was so strong, his words could barely be heard. Tumbleweeds rolled across the parking lot.
    Litter and food wrappers flew out of the bunkhouse door. Inside, they could see socks, boots, and newspapers scattered on the floor.
    “Guess Tom isn’t very neat,” Benny observed.
    “That looks like a Spanish—English dictionary,” Luis said, pointing to a small book lying near the doorway.
    The wind kicked up another strong gust. Benny stooped to pull off a sheet of paper that had plastered itself to his leg. He stared at the paper, his mouth in an “o.”
    “What is it?” Henry said.
    Benny held up the paper so they could all see the holes slashed in it. The sheet was an advertisement, with letters roughly cut out.
    Violet gasped. “This must be where Jake’s threatening note came from!”
    “And he used the dictionary to translate his message into Spanish,” Jessie added. “Why would Tom Parker send old Jake a warning note?”
    Other papers fluttered from the open doorway. Before the wind snatched it away, Jessie planted her foot on a photograph.
    “Luis! Isn’t this one of your maps?”
    Luis grabbed two more escaping sheets. “So are these! What were my map pictures doing in Tom’s room?”
    Violet trapped a piece of wind-blown paper against the wall. She flattened the sheet with the palm of her hand, then studied the paper.
    “I think this will answer a lot of questions,” she said.

CHAPTER 9
One Mystery Solved
    T he others gathered around Violet.
    “It’s a letter from Tom,” she said. “It’s to somebody named Frank. See? It’s signed Tom Parker.’ ”
    Violet squinted at the messy handwriting. “ ‘My great-uncle Jake,’ ” she began, then gasped. “ ‘My great-uncle Jake, the prospector, has no idea who I am . . . can’t wait to get my hands on his mine. Then I’ll have a new address—Easy Street.’ ”
    Her eyes huge, she glanced up from the page. “Tom is Jake’s great-nephew. And Jake doesn’t know it!”
    “Where’s Easy Street?” Benny asked. “Maybe that’s where Tom is now.”
    “It’s an expression,” Jessie answered. “It means he’ll have plenty of money.”
    “This sounds like trouble,” Henry said. “First we find that