The Mystery of Babe Ruth Baseball by David A. Adler Read Free Book Online

Chapter One
    It was a Sunday afternoon at the end of May. Cam Jansen and her friend Eric Shelton were in the local community center. A hobby show was being held there, and Cam’s parents had brought their collection of circus posters.
    Cam’s father fixed his bow tie. He looked at his watch and said, “It’s almost time.”
    â€œYou should go now, before you miss it,” Cam’s mother added.
    Cam and Eric rushed to the clock corner, where there were more than twenty cuckoo clocks hanging on the wall. It was almost four o‘clock. Cam and Eric waited. Then the noise started. When the minute hand of each clock reached twelve, a tiny door opened and a small wooden bird popped out. “Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo,” it chirped.
    All the birds seemed to be coming out of all the clocks at once. People in the large room turned to look at the clocks. Many of them looked at their watches to see if it really was four o‘clock.
    After the clock doors had closed, Cam and Eric looked at some of the other exhibits. They looked at needlepoint pillows, the Collins Coin Shop exhibit, a display of old toys, and at a large collection of baseball cards, yearbooks, and posters.
    â€œLook here,” Eric said. “There’s a whole section about Babe Ruth.”
    There were a few Babe Ruth baseball cards, some photographs, a baseball the Babe had autographed, and a large poster of Babe Ruth hitting a home run. The poster also listed his record as a player.

    â€œTest my memory,” Cam told Eric. “Ask me anything about Babe Ruth’s playing record.”
    Cam looked carefully at all the numbers on the poster. Then she closed her eyes and said, “Click.” Cam always says, “Click,” when she wants to remember something. When people ask her why, she points to her head and tells them, “This is a mental camera. Just like any camera, it goes ‘click’ when it takes a picture.”
    â€œWhat was the Babe’s real name?” Eric asked.
    â€œGeorge Herman Ruth,” Cam said with her eyes still closed.
    â€œHow many games did he play in 1924?”
    â€œOne hundred and fifty-three.”
    Cam has what people call a photographic memory. Her mind takes a picture of whatever she sees. When she wants to remember something, even a detail such as how many games Babe Ruth played in any one year, she just looks at the photograph stored in her brain.
    Cam’s real name is Jennifer Jansen. But when people found out about her amazing memory, they called her “The Camera.” Soon “The Camera” was shortened to “Cam.”
    â€œWhen did Babe Ruth get the most hits?” Eric asked.
    â€œIn 1923. He had two hundred and five hits that year. And he hit the most home runs in 1927. That’s when he hit sixty,” Cam said, with her eyes still closed.
    The owner of the collection was listening. He was an old man. He had a bushy white mustache, and he was wearing a baseball cap.
    â€œYou really know all about baseball,” the old man said.
    Cam opened her eyes and said, “No, I don’t. I just remember everything on that poster.”

    Then Eric told him, “She has a mental camera. Why don’t you test her?”
    The old man picked up a box of baseball cards. “Take a card,” he called to the people around the exhibit. “We’ll see how good this girl’s memory really is.”
    Two people reached into the box and took out a card. Cam looked at the people. Then she looked at the cards they were holding. She said, “Click,” and closed her eyes.
    â€œWhat card am I holding?” a teenage boy wearing jeans and a bright green jacket asked.
    â€œYou’re holding a Reggie Jackson card.”
    â€œThat’s right,” the boy said. Then he looked at his card and asked, “How many doubles did he hit in 1977?”
    â€œThirty-nine.”
    A girl with long brown hair, holding a