Mrs. Johnson told the Aldens about a pancake restaurant just down the road. Over pecan pancakes and fresh Florida orange juice the next morning, the Aldens made plans.
“Now what do we do?” asked Violet.
“We’re going to the Everglades,” James Alden replied. “To the visitors’ center where Andrew was supposed to be working. The young woman I spoke to yesterday didn’t sound too concerned.”
“How did she sound?” Violet asked.
“Annoyed,” Grandfather said. “Are we ready to go?” he asked.
“Yes!” the children answered at once.
It was very hot, even early in the morning. The kids were glad their rental car had air-conditioning. Jessie sat up front with Grandfather as his “map guide.”
“We just go out Route Forty-one,” she told him. “And we come to the Shark Valley Information Center.”
“What a funny name,” Violet remarked. “They don’t have sharks in the Everglades, do they?”
“Not in the Everglades,” Henry replied. “But there are plenty of sharks in the water around Florida.”
Soon they turned into Shark Valley. They parked and went inside the information center. At the front desk, they were greeted by a ranger. Her name badge read, MELANIE HARPER.
“Can I help you?” the young woman asked. She had blond hair cut very short.
“Yes,” said Grandfather. “I’m looking for Andrew Beldon. I understand he works here.”
Melanie frowned. “Were you the gentleman who called yesterday?”
“Yes,” replied Grandfather. “Andrew is a family friend. I’ve come to see him.”
“Good luck,” Melanie said breezily. “He’s on rotation here this week, but we haven’t seen him. So I’m doing his job as well as mine.”
“Andrew hasn’t called his supervisor?” asked Grandfather.
“Nope.”
Melanie seemed awfully casual, Jessie thought. “Isn’t anybody worried about him?” she asked Melanie.
“It’s his life,” the young woman replied flippantly. “If he wants to lose his job, that’s his business.”
Henry thought the ranger had the wrong attitude. “Maybe he’s sick at home. Has anyone called or gone to his house to check on him?”
“Look, all I know is I have to run Andrew’s tram tours and announce the showings of the film,” said Melanie. “It isn’t easy doing double duty. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get ready for the next tour.”
The Aldens moved away from the desk and went over to the exhibit area.
“Now I’m really worried,” said Grandfather. “But I don’t want to call Thomas and tell him that no one has seen Andrew in days. It might make his illness worse.”
“You won’t have to do that,” said Henry firmly. “We’ll find Andrew.”
“Yeah,” Benny said. “This won’t be the first mystery we’ve solved.”
Grandfather smiled. “You’re right about that. You kids have solved a lot of mysteries.”
“I have an idea,” said Violet. “Let’s take the tram tour that Andrew was supposed to be running. Maybe we’ll find out something on the tour.”
“Good idea,” Henry said. “We’ll retrace Andrew’s steps. Maybe we can learn something about where he was last seen.”
They wandered around the exhibits. The information center was busy.
Melanie picked up a microphone and announced the next viewing of the film. Then she added, “The next tram tour leaves in ten minutes. This is a two-hour guided tour. We will end at the observation tower.”
One woman fanned herself with a map. “Too hot for me,” she said to Jessie. “I think I’ll go watch the movie!”
Several people followed the woman into the auditorium. Others went out the door to the tram platform. Melanie came out a few moments later. Her face wore a hurried look.
“You seem short-staffed,” said a man as Melanie told them all to board the tram.
The Aldens sat up front, the children sitting in two seats across from one another. Grandfather shared a seat with an older gentleman.
“We are short-staffed,” Melanie replied, jumping into the driver’s seat and clipping a microphone to her shirt collar. “Another ranger came up from Flamingo Visitors’ Center to help out these last few days.” After checking to see that everyone was safely inside the tram, she started the engine.
In a monotone, she told them about the Shark Valley area. No cars were allowed on the fifteen-mile loop that went deep into the Everglades. But visitors could bike or walk the trail. Most people took the tram, since fifteen miles was a long walk in the summer heat.
“Will we see any alligators?” Benny asked Melanie. He sat directly behind her. “I really, really wish I’d see an alligator.”
“You might,” she said. “There are lots of alligators in the Everglades.” Then she went back to her talk. She told them that nowhere on earth was there a place like the Everglades. The name meant “river of grass.” The Everglades began north at Lake Okeechobee, a Native American name meaning “big water.” The river flowed south, moving slowly.
“There’s a lot of grass in it,” Violet said.
“That’s called sawgrass,” Melanie replied into her microphone. “It only grows here. It’s not really grass at all, but a plant called sedge. It’s very sharp. Some sawgrass plants are rooted six to fifteen feet deep beneath the water. But here the water is only knee-deep.”
The tram stopped several times as Melanie pointed out a white heron, a colorful spoonbill, and other birds.
At last they reached the end of the loop. “If you want,” Melanie announced, “you may climb the observation tower. It’s sixty-five feet high. You’ll be rewarded with a spectacular view of the Everglades.”
Benny climbed off the tram with the others. “We didn’t see any alligators,” he said, disappointed.
“We will,” Violet told him. “Maybe it’s their nap time.” It was very hot. She had brought her camera. It swung around her neck on its strap.
Several older people decided to stay on the shaded tram.
“I’ll stay here, too,” said Grandfather. “Mr. Austin, here, and I both served in the navy and have a few stories to trade. But you kids go ahead. Be careful.”
“We’ll watch Benny,” Jessie promised.
The observation tower was actually very safe to climb, with handrails on both sides. Soon they reached the top. The platform had railings all the way around.
“Wow!” Benny cried, running from one side to the other. “We’re up as high as the moon!”
Jessie giggled. “Not quite.” But the view was wonderful, just as Melanie had promised.
“We still don’t know anything about Andrew Beldon,” said Henry. “I thought we might learn something on the ride.”
“I sure hope we find him soon,” Jessie said.
Just then Henry pointed to a dark, greenish shape down below. “Look! Is that an alligator?”
“If it is, your wish has come true,” Violet told her little brother.
Benny rushed over. “It looks like an old log to me.”
“I think alligators do look like old logs,” Henry told him. “They don’t move a lot. But it’s pretty far away.”
“I’ll take a picture,” Violet offered. “Just in case it is an alligator.”
She stepped forward to position the greenish log in her viewfinder, then put her finger on the button. Just then someone joggled her arm. Her finger pressed the button, but the camera moved. The picture was spoiled.
She turned to see who had bumped into her. It was a man dressed like a tourist, with a straw hat, a flower-printed shirt, and baggy plaid shorts. He, too, had a camera around his neck. He thumbed through a guidebook on birds.
But as Violet watched him, she realized he wasn’t a typical tourist at all. The man wasn’t gawking like the others, pointing out birds or other unusual sights. He seemed to be listening to the Aldens. But why? And why did he seem familiar?
She moved away from the man and was about to tell the others.
Just then Benny cried, “Look at that!”
A strange-looking vehicle skimmed quickly over the sawgrass. It was very loud. Birds flew up, wings beating.
“That’s an airboat,” Henry said. “Maybe we’ll get to ride on one.”
“They’re awfully noisy,” said Jessie. “All the birds flew away.”
It was time to go back down to the tram. Violet looked around for the strange man, but he had melted into the crowd. When the tram returned to the information center, she thought she glimpsed him hopping quickly off and blending into the swarm of tourists waiting for the next tour.
“We’ll look inside once more,” said Grandfather. “In case Andrew has come back.”
But the ranger at the desk wasn’t Andrew. Melanie was getting ready for the next tram tour.
“I don’t think we’ll get any more information here today,” said Grandfather after letting the children buy guidebooks and maps of the Everglades.
“Besides, it’s lunchtime,” Benny pointed out.
“There aren’t any restaurants in the Everglades,” Grandfather said. “We’ll have to drive back to town.”
“I remember a barbecue place on the way in,” Henry said.
Sure enough, there was a small barbecue shack on the edge of the Everglades. Everyone piled out of the car and into the restaurant. They ordered iced tea and barbecue platters with extra sauce.
While waiting for their food, the children leafed through their new books.
“We should see all kinds of animals,” Henry said excitedly. “Turtles, birds, snakes —”
Jessie shuddered. “No snakes.” Normally she was brave, but she didn’t like snakes.
“You know what we ought to do?” Henry suggested. “Since we know how to make plaster casts from our trip to upstate New York, we should buy supplies. We want to be prepared if we come across the footprint of a crocodile. Or, if we’re very, very lucky, a Florida panther.”
“Wildcats?” Benny’s eyes grew round. “Here?”
“Not in the restaurant,” Jessie teased. “The Florida panther is very rare. I doubt we’ll see one. But that’s a good idea, Henry.”
On the way back to the hotel, the Aldens stopped at a variety store. They loaded up on more bug spray plaster of paris for making casts, and other supplies.
At the Flamingo, Grandfather went up to his room to make more calls to the Park Service. “This time I’ll try Andrew’s supervisor,” he said.
The kids gathered in the boys’ room to discuss the case.
“I think we should try calling Andrew,” said Violet. “Maybe he’s home by now.”
“Great thinking!” Henry praised. After finding Andrew’s number in the phone book, he pulled the phone toward him and dialed the number.
“Hello?” answered a woman’s voice on the other end.
“Hello,” Henry said. “I’m a friend of Andrew Beldon’s and I was wondering —”
Click. The line went dead.
Henry held out the receiver. “She hung up on me.” |