Jessie, Violet, and Benny rushed back to their campsite. Henry and Aunt Jane had already put up the tents. Aunt Jane was washing her hands in the stream.
“We’ll have the hot dogs tonight,” she said, reaching into the bag of food.
For once Benny wasn’t interested in talking about food. “Aunt Jane, we found a riddle written on a rock near the old house,” he almost shouted.
“A riddle?” Aunt Jane said.
“Really?” Henry asked. “What did it say?”
Jessie and Violet remembered it word for word and were able to repeat it.
“Can you show me where it is?” Henry asked.
“Maybe we should wait until after dinner,” Jessie suggested.
“I am hungry,” Benny admitted.
“So am I,” Aunt Jane said.
“Why don’t we wait,” Violet told Henry. “It will still be light after dinner.”
“Yes, and then we can look for more clues,” Jessie added.
Henry and Jessie built the campfire.
Aunt Jane explored the campsite. “Lots of people must camp here. Look at the remains of all these campfires.” She pointed to several piles of ashes on the ground.
“Yes, it’s funny we haven’t met any other canoeists so far,” Jessie said. She pulled a large worn blanket from her backpack.
“This reminds me of when we lived in the boxcar,” Benny said, as he helped Jessie gather a big pile of pine needles to put under the blanket. Violet picked some wildflowers. “Things should look special for our first meal on the trail,” she said. She put the flowers in her tin cup and placed them in the middle of the picnic blanket.
Jessie took five plates, cups, forks, and spoons out of the bag of cooking utensils and set them on the blanket. Aunt Jane wrapped five potatoes in aluminum foil to put on the coals. Benny helped Henry punch holes in the hot dogs with a fork. Violet cut up some of Mrs. McGregor’s fresh homemade bread for buns.
Soon dinner was ready and everything was delicious. They finished a loaf of Mrs. McGregor’s homemade bread, ate up all the hot dogs and potatoes, and drank lots of water from the stream. Then they had fresh fruit and homemade brownies for dessert.
After dinner, Jessie boiled a big kettle of water and they all helped wash and dry the dishes. When everything had been put away, they walked to the big rock in the woods.
“Every word in a riddle means something,” Aunt Jane said as she looked at the riddle on the rock.
“Silver and gold coins, so well hidden
To seek and find them, you are bidden.
A cat with whiskers but no feet
Guards them near his silver sheet.”
“I wonder if they’re talking about those coins that were stolen,” Henry said.
“Could be,” said Aunt Jane.
“Somewhere in this riddle is the clue to where the coins are hidden,” said Jessie.
“They’re ‘well hidden,’” Henry said. “That doesn’t tell us much of anything.”
“You don’t know,” Aunt Jane answered. “Remember, every word in a riddle tries to tell you something.”
“What do you think they mean by a cat with whiskers but no feet?” Benny asked. He looked a little discouraged.
“Wait a minute,” Henry said. He had just thought of something. “Maybe they’re talking about a place. Think of a place near here with the word cat in it.” Henry looked teasingly at his brother.
“Catfish Lake!” Violet and Benny said at the same time.
“Good,” Aunt Jane said. “Catfish certainly have whiskers but no feet.”
“The silver sheet is the lake,” Jessie said. “You know—when the water is calm it looks like a smooth silver sheet.”
“Now we know the coins are hidden—well hidden—near Catfish Lake,” Henry said.
“When will we be on Catfish Lake?” Benny asked.
“In a couple of days, at most,” Henry answered.
“I think we’ve solved the riddle,” Benny said.
“But we haven’t found the coins yet,” Henry said, laughing.
“Maybe there are more clues near the abandoned house,” Violet suggested.
Aunt Jane and the Aldens searched the grounds around the house until it became dark. They found more piles of ashes in the woods.
“Someone sure is doing a lot of burning,” Violet said.
“Yes, it might be campers making fires,” Aunt Jane said.
“Or maybe only one person is making all these fires,” Henry said.
“Maybe he or she is trying to burn any clues that might lead us to the coins,” Jessie added.
Aunt Jane and the children nodded. It seemed there was nothing to do but go back to their campsite.
That night, all the Aldens fell asleep right away. Around midnight, Benny stirred. He thought he heard a sound.
Owowowowooooo … owowowooooo. …
Benny blinked and sat up in his sleeping bag. “Did you hear that?” he asked Henry.
But Henry was still sound asleep. It was very dark in the tent. Staying in his sleeping bag, Benny rolled across the floor until he could touch Henry’s back.
“Henry,” Benny whispered loudly. “Wake up! I think I hear a wolf outside the tent.”
“Wolf,” Henry muttered in his sleep. Then Benny heard the sound again, only this time it was louder.
Owowowooooo … owowowooooo. …
This time Henry woke up. “Did you hear that wolf?” Benny asked.
“It sounds very far away,” Henry said. “Try to go back to sleep, Benny. I’ll stay awake for a little while and keep watch. Still, there are no wolves in this part of the country anymore. I’m sure there aren’t.” But not even Henry sounded so sure anymore. |