Pete arrived and crossed the field to the oak tree. “I left the back of the station wagon open,” he told the Aldens. “Just put the picnic basket inside when you’re finished.”
Squinting toward the station wagon, Henry asked, “Did Barbara come back with you?”
“Yes,” Pete answered. “She wanted to see for herself what this ballooning is all about.”
They finished lunch and headed across the field.
“Where’d Barbara go?” Jessie wondered aloud. “I’d like to thank her.”
“I see her!” Benny said. “She’s over by the shed with everyone else.”
“Jessie, why don’t you and Henry go talk to her,” Violet suggested. “We’ll take the things to the wagon.”
“We’ll meet you by the shed,” Henry said as he and Jessie started toward it.
Pete’s station wagon was parked between Sky’s van and Mary’s car. As they hoisted the picnic basket into it, Soo Lee noticed something.
“What are you looking at?” Benny asked her.
Soo Lee moved closer to Mary’s car. “Something is sticking out of Mary’s car trunk,” she said.
Benny came up beside her. “Let me see what it is.”
Violet said, “It looks like . . .”
“. . . a bandanna!” all three exclaimed.
“A blue-and-white bandanna,” Soo Lee said.
Benny tugged at it. It slipped out easily.
“Look in the corner,” Violet told him.
Benny held the scarf so that they could all see the letters B. G. inked there. “Brad Golder’s other bandanna!”
“We’d better get Jessie and Henry,” Violet said.
“I’ll find them,” Soo Lee volunteered and ran off.
Benny shook his head in disbelief. “Do you think Mary England is doing all this?” he asked.
Violet was thinking the same thing.
Henry was the first to reach them. “What’s up?” he asked.
At his heels, Jessie said, “Soo Lee said you found an important clue.”
Benny held up the bandanna. “It’s important all right.”
“Where did you find that?” Henry asked.
“Sticking out of Mary’s car,” Violet answered.
“Mary England?” Jessie said.
“It’s hard to believe one person could have done all this,” Henry said.
“Maybe Mary found the bandanna,” Soo Lee suggested.
“Pete said he found the red one,” Benny reminded them.
“And Mary told us she saw Pete on Mill Road,” Violet reminded them. “She could have found this bandanna where Pete found the other one.”
“If she did, why didn’t she mention it?” Jessie wanted to know.
No one could answer that. Mary had been there when Brad discovered the red bandanna in Pete’s pocket. If she had found one, too, she would have spoken up.
“Maybe she did the other things,” Soo Lee said, “but she couldn’t have launched the balloon alone.”
They all agreed that seemed unlikely.
“Maybe the whole town is in on this,” Benny said.
That was certainly a possibility. No one seemed to welcome the balloonists and their business.
They fell silent, thinking.
Suddenly, Jessie remembered something. “Mary launched Brad’s balloon all right,” she said with certainty.
“What makes you so sure?” Henry asked her.
“Her hair,” Jessie answered.
For several seconds, no one understood what she meant.
Then, Benny spoke up. “I’ve got it!” he said. “That day her hair was all messed up!”
“And there was no wind,” Soo Lee remembered.
“And,” Violet added, “she never opens her car windows.”
“The fan messed up her hair just like it messed up mine!” Benny concluded.
“I think you’re right,” Jessie said.
“But who helped her?” Violet asked.
No one responded.
“What about Sky’s ad?” Benny asked. “Barbara canceled that.”
“We don’t know who Barbara was talking to,” Jessie said. “We already decided that.”
“Mary did have the chance to steal Don’s map and compass,” Soo Lee said.
“That’s right,” Benny said. “She helped his crew hold the basket down.”
“She probably took Sky’s gas tank, too,” Soo Lee decided.
Henry said, “I think it’s time we talk to Mary.”
The Aldens walked toward the shed. Henry held the blue-and-white bandanna. It fluttered in the breeze like a flag.
Brad Golder was the first to notice it. “My bandanna!” he said as the children approached. “Where did you find it?”
“Right in Mary England’s trunk,” Benny blurted.
Mary’s mouth dropped open and her eyes grew big. “My trunk?!” she sputtered. “What — ? Why — ? How — ?”
Brad Golder turned on her. “So it was you!”
Sky’s bright face darkened. “I should have known,” she said.
Mary backed away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I had nothing to do with your balloon, Brad. I had nothing to do with any of this.”
Everyone was staring at her.
She reddened. “I — I . . . found the scarf,” she continued. “I found it out on Mill Road where Pete found the other one.” She shot Hollis McKnight a pleading glance. “Isn’t that so, Hollis? You remember. Out on Mill Road? Near the spring?”
“It’s no use, Mary,” Hollis responded. “This whole thing has been wrong from the start. We have to tell the truth.” He looked at Matt and Sky. “We — I thought it was best for the community. I was afraid this ballooning business would change Lloyd’s Landing forever. I didn’t want that. I love this town. So I agreed to help Mary stop it.”
Brad nodded. “So you two launched my balloon.”
“That’s how Mary’s hair got messed up,” Benny put in.
“We didn’t know it was your balloon,” Hollis assured Brad. “It was the easiest one to launch. Smaller than some of the others, and everything was set out and ready.”
“How did the red bandanna end up out by the spring?” Pete asked.
“Launching a balloon is hard work — especially for two inexperienced people,” Hollis explained. “Afterward, we stopped at the spring for a drink. The bandannas were stuffed in my pocket. One must have fallen out.”
“And I found it,” Pete said.
“Did you have anything to do with Don’s missing map and compass?” Henry asked.
Hollis shook his head. “No, no. Nothing. I realized that I had been wrong. I wanted nothing more to do with any of it.”
“What made you change your mind?” Jessie asked Hollis.
“The letters,” Hollis answered. “Hundreds of letters in answer to my editorial. It seemed there were just a few townspeople who objected to the balloon business. Everyone else was in favor of it.”
The Aldens remembered the conversation between Hollis and Mary here at the port. He had taken a stack of letters out of a big brown envelope and waved them in her face.
“I tried to tell Mary to stop interfering, but she wouldn’t listen,” Hollis went on.
Had Mary done the other things by herself? Henry wondered. Or was someone else involved?
“But what about Sky’s ad?” Benny wanted to know. “I heard Barbara on the phone. She said, ‘Drop it.’ ”
Barbara stepped forward. “I didn’t cancel that ad. I was phoning Mary to tell her to stop this nonsense. I thought she was right at first: The ballooning business would destroy Lloyd’s Landing. But it was tearing us apart. Pete and Mary were friends and now . . .”
Pete spoke up. “I knew the business would be good for the inn — for the whole town! How could I go along with a plan to ruin it?”
“After Mary left the inn last night, I called her. The line was busy,” Barbara continued.
“Later, I phoned again. We got into an argument. I said some dreadful things. Finally, I just told her to drop the whole thing.”
Mary had listened quietly. Now, with her arms crossed over her chest, she rocked gently back and forth. “I am so sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I just didn’t want Lloyd’s Landing to change. When I was young, I thought this town was dull and boring. I left it, but I soon learned that it’s a special place.”
“That’s why we chose it,” Sky told her.
“Ballooning would make it even more special,” Violet said softly.
“I didn’t think so,” Mary said. “I thought it would ruin everything.”
“You’re the one who tried to ruin everything,” Matt said.
“I hoped you and Sky would change your minds. Go somewhere else. That’s why I called up Hollis’s assistant, and canceled the ad. I thought if no one came to the rally, you’d reconsider.”
“But it didn’t work,” Benny said.
Mary sighed. “Nothing worked. I thought Don would cause real trouble when his map and compass were missing, but . . .” Her voice trailed off.
Sky huffed. “Don doesn’t need your help to cause trouble,” she said.
Pete understood what Mary meant. “But all Don did was complain,” he said.
Henry chuckled. “He always does that.”
Mary nodded. “Yes, so no one took him seriously.”
“Did you take our propane tank?” Matt asked.
Mary nodded. “I was sure someone would see me lugging that heavy thing. But everyone was busy. No one noticed.”
In his mind, Benny heard Mary’s car trunk slam shut as it had early this morning. “It’s in your trunk,” he murmured.
“I was sure you wouldn’t go up without it,” Mary said to Sky. “I thought if something happened to keep you from flying, you might just . . . give up.”
“Wrong again,” Matt commented.
“Ballooning will be good for the businesses in town,” Jessie said.
“For The Landing’s Inn and all the inns and hotels,” Henry added.
“And the restaurants,” Benny put in.
“For the whole town,” Soo Lee said.
“And it doesn’t harm the environment,” Violet said.
Mary nodded. “I’m beginning to see that,” she said. “Still, the idea of change . . .”
“We don’t want to change Lloyd’s Landing,” Sky assured her. “We just want to be a part of it.” She put her arm around Mary’s shoulders. “I’ll tell you what: We’ll take you for a ride. You can see for yourself how wonderful ballooning is.”
Mary’s face opened with surprise. “You’d do that? After all the trouble I’ve caused?”
Sky laughed. “Believe me, one ride, and you’ll be our biggest supporter.” |