looking at?â he asked.
âYes,â Jessie said.
âI donât see it,â said Henry.
The other three walked slowly around the tables. After a moment Jessie said, âYouâre right. Itâs not here.â
âNot again,â said Violet, putting down the books sheâd been holding on Samâs desk. âThatâs the third piece missing!â
âMaybe Dr. Snood just put it somewhere else,â Jessie said. âHe looked very interested in it.â
âYes, maybe thatâs it,â Violet agreed.
âWeâll ask Sam when she comes in,â Henry said. âWeâve got to find those pieces before the exhibit opens, and weâve got only two days left.â Then he noticed the books that Jessie and Violet had brought up. âIt looks like you guys found a lot of books.â
âWe did,â said Jessie. âLetâs go in the exhibit hall and take a look.â
The Aldens went into the next room and sat down on the floor.
 They each took a book on their laps and began to flip through them. One book had beautiful photographs of pyramids and maps of Egypt. Another book contained pages of hieroglyphics. And Benny pulled out a book that told how to make a mummy. âLook at this.â He pointed to a picture of a shriveled body that had been unwrapped from a mummy. âGross!â
âBut isnât it amazing that youâre looking at the face of a person who lived thousands of years ago?â Henry asked.
âI guess so,â said Benny making a face.
Sam arrived a few minutes later. âWhy all the grim faces?â she asked.
âBad news,â said Henry. âAnother piece is missing. The little blue hippo.â
The children all hoped that Sam would say something like, Oh, thatâs okay. I just put it in a different room. But instead, she said nothing. She looked at the children and then walked into the prep room. The Aldens followed as Sam went from table to table, a worried look on her face. Then she sank down into a chair and buried her head in her hands. Henry stood silently beside her, unsure what to do.
âThis is terrible,â Sam said at last, slowly lifting her head to look at Henry. âWhen did you notice it was gone?â
âJust this morning,â said Henry. âI was looking for it because I remembered that Dr. Snood had been holding it yesterday when we left.â
âDr. Snood was holding it?â Sam said slowly.
âYes,â Henry said.
âThatâs ... interesting,â Sam said.
âYou donât think he would have put it somewhere, do you?â Henry asked.
âI donât know,â said Sam. âI hope thatâs the explanation. Iâll have to ask him.â She got up slowly and put her briefcase on her desk. âWhat have you been working on this morning?â
âWeâre doing a kidsâ guide for the exhibit,â Violet said. The children excitedly told Sam all about it.
âThatâs a great idea!â Sam said. âIâll take a look at it when youâre done, and we can print copies downstairs.â She unloaded some papers from her bag. When she had finished, she said, âIâm going down to speak to Dr. Snood. Iâll see you later.â
After sheâd left, Violet turned to the others. âI hate to think that someone would steal things from the museum.â
âI do, too,â said Henry. âBut what other explanation could there be for the missing pieces?â
âI wonder if it has something to do with the Carson City Museum,â Benny said. He told the others what he and Violet had overheard the day before.
âYou think someone at the Carson City Museum is so angry at the Greenfield Museum they would try to mess up the exhibit?â Jessie asked.
âMaybe, to make the Greenfield Museum look bad,â said Benny.
âI think itâs time we paid a visit to