“What are you going to do?” Benny asked Grandfather.
“Well, first I must call Jay Murphy, my friend who sold me the property, and see what he thinks about Mr. Lacey’s offer,” said Grandfather. “I’ve only owned the property a few weeks. But Jay had that land for years. He knows more about this area than I do.”
“There’s a phone in the dining hall,” Violet said.
James Alden glanced back at the log building. “Yes, it’s on the small table for the guests’ use. However, it’s too public. I’ll use the phone in my cabin.”
The children followed him inside. Grandfather’s cabin was as shabby as the others. A broken shade was tacked crookedly at the window. The carpet was stained and ripped.
Grandfather picked up the receiver and jiggled the connector button. “No dial tone,” he said, frowning.
“Ours was dead last night,” said Jessie. “When I tried to call for towels.”
At that moment, Marianne Harrington passed by the open door.
“Miss,” Grandfather called. “Our phone is dead.”
“They’re all dead,” Marianne replied. “It happens a lot up here.”
“But we didn’t have a storm last night,” said Henry. “What would cause the phone service to go out?”
Marianne merely shrugged and continued on her way.
“Now what?” Violet said.
Grandfather sighed. “I’ll have to drive into Beaverton. That’s the nearest town with a phone.”
“Would you buy us some food?” Benny asked. “I’m still hungry from breakfast!”
“I can top that. I’m still hungry from dinner last night,” Henry added.
“I’ll get some snacks and juices,” Grandfather promised.
“Do you want us to come with you?” Jessie asked.
Grandfather smiled. “You children stay here and enjoy this gorgeous day.” Then he climbed into his rental car and drove away.
The other guests were off on various pursuits. Victor Lacey and Robert Williams had gone fishing. Corey had strapped on a huge backpack and left on a long hike.
Except for Marianne and Mrs. Harrington, who were busy, the Alden children were alone at Eagles Nest.
“I wish we could take a hike, too,” said Violet. “The mountains are so beautiful.”
Just then Mrs. Harrington came out of the dining hall with a garbage can. She overheard Violet’s remark.
“You can go hiking,” the owner suggested. “There’s an easy trail just past the last cabin. It’s well marked. You’ll be perfectly safe.”
Excited, the kids changed into hiking boots and shorts. Marianne fixed them paper sack lunches with sandwiches, little bags of potato chips, apples, and bottles of water.
Beyond the last cabin, they found the trail and began the climb uphill.
This time Violet brought her camera. She stopped often to snap pictures of breathtaking views. She kept hoping they’d see an animal, but the wildlife must have heard their clumping boots and stayed hidden.
When they reached a flat spot in the trail, the children sat down to eat.
Benny opened his bag eagerly. Then he stared at his sandwich.
“Peanut butter and cucumbers?” he exclaimed in disbelief. “Who ever heard of a peanut-butter-and-cucumber sandwich?”
“You got the good one,” Jessie said, peeking between two slices of stale bread. “I have grape jelly and spinach. Left over from last night’s dinner, I bet.”
Henry’s and Violet’s sandwiches were just as awful. The children made do by pulling out the vegetables and eating the bread. At least the potato chips and apples were okay.
When lunch was over, the children perched on a large boulder and stretched out in the noonday sun.
“Look!” Henry cried. “An eagle!”
Fascinated, they watched the eagle’s lazy flight.
“I wish I could fly,” Benny said dreamily. The warm sun made him sleepy. He closed his eyes for a second.
Then Jessie was shaking him. “Benny, wake up.”
“I’m awake,” he said, sitting up. “Where are we?”
“We’re still on the mountain, but we should head back to the motel,” Violet said as she gathered their trash into one sack.
Henry slid down off the rock and helped the others.
“Here’s the trail,” he said. But it seemed different. Were those three round rocks there before? he wondered.
At first no one else noticed if the trail looked different.
Then Jessie said, “I don’t remember that raggedy mountain peak way off in the distance.”
“I don’t, either,” said Violet. “I took lots of pictures, but not one of that mountain.”
“We’re going downhill,” Benny pointed out. “We must be on the right trail.”
But the more they walked, the more Henry realized they were on the wrong trail.
“Stop, guys. We’re lost,” he admitted. “It’s my fault. I should have looked around for a second trail.”
“We all should have been paying attention,” Jessie said, trying to make him feel better.
Benny climbed onto a fallen tree. “Hey!” he yelled. “I see smoke!”
Henry quickly joined him. “Smoke means a campsite or maybe even a cabin! Let’s go down.”
They followed the trail to a sunlit clearing. In the center was an old but well-built cabin. Smoke curled from its stone chimney.
“Somebody’s home,” Violet said excitedly. “I’m sure they’ll help us find our way back to Eagles Nest.”
Jessie walked up to the solid door and knocked.
At once, the door flung inward and a huge figure filled the doorway.
“What do you want?” a booming voice demanded.
Benny immediately thought of a giant in a fairy tale.
“I — uh — ” Jessie stammered. She fell back a step, startled.
The large figure was a woman. She wore a red-and-black flannel shirt over at least two other shirts and men’s jeans. Her large feet were laced into stout work boots. The woman’s iron-gray hair was cut short and jaggedly, as if she’d cut it herself with scissors and no mirror.
“What do you want?” the woman demanded again.
This time Henry spoke up. “We were hiking and we got on the wrong trail — ”
“You sure did!” the woman boomed. “This is private property. Get off my land!”
“But — ” Before Henry could finish his sentence, the woman went back into the cabin and slammed the door.
The Aldens stared at one another, astonished by the huge, unfriendly woman.
“We won’t find any help here,” Henry said. “Let’s get off the lady’s property like she asked. Maybe we’ll find the right trail if we keep looking.”
In the end, Benny found a fork in the trail. Soon they were back at Eagles Nest.
“Just in time for afternoon refreshments,” Mrs. Harrington told them, setting out a bowl of olives.
Benny didn’t like olives with pits. “No, thanks,” he said. “But something happened up on the trail!”
“You didn’t see a bear, did you?” asked Mrs. Harrington.
“Worse! We saw this lady who was almost as big as a bear!”
Jessie giggled at her brother’s description. “We got on the wrong trail and wound up at a cabin. The lady who lived there wasn’t very friendly.”
“She told us to get off her land,” Violet added. “She shut the door in our faces.”
Mrs. Harrington nodded. “That was Old Gert you ran into. She’s harmless, unless she catches you trespassing.”
“Why would a woman want to live in the woods by herself? Doesn’t she get lonely?” Jessie asked.
Mrs. Harrington shrugged. “Old Gert’s been on that mountain since my Walt brought me here as a bride. She likes to be alone. Just remember she’s harmless, but tough,” she warned. “Don’t cross her path.”
Violet knew Gert was scary, but there was something familiar about the old woman. Something she couldn’t put her finger on.
The kids went outside to wait for Grandfather, who hadn’t returned from Beaverton yet.
“Do you think Old Gert could be the ghost?” Jessie suggested. “She doesn’t like people around. It would be a good way to scare off people.”
Violet shook her head. “She’s too big. The Lady in Gray is smaller and thinner.” Was that what was bothering her? No, it was something else.
“It was hard to tell how thin Old Gert is, with all those shirts she had on,” Henry said. “But I think Violet’s right. Gert was too tall to be the ghost.”
Just then Grandfather’s rental car pulled up. As he climbed out, the children ran over.
“Did you talk to Mr. Murphy?” asked Benny. “What did he say?”
“Yes, I did,” Grandfather answered. “Jay reminded me the property had just been assessed.”
“What does that mean?” Violet wanted to know.
Henry replied, “It’s when someone figures out the value of the land.”
Grandfather nodded. “The assessed value is often higher than a buyer’s asking price. People want to save some money and everyone expects it. But Victor’s offer is a lot more than I paid. And way above the assessed value. It doesn’t make sense.”
Jessie frowned. “Mr. Lacey said your land is worthless. What did Mr. Murphy say about that?”
“Jay didn’t know why Mr. Lacey said the land was worthless,” Grandfather went on. “There isn’t anything wrong with that property. It’s just not worth a lot.”
But Mr. Lacey wants it, Jessie thought. Bad enough to pay a whole lot of money.
That night the lights went out during dinner. The food was so horrible it was just as well they didn’t have to look at it, Violet decided.
“We have electricity problems here,” Mrs. Harrington said, lighting a single lantern and setting it on the table. “The power truck should come out tonight to fix it.”
Mr. Williams tossed his napkin beside his plate. “Mrs. Harrington, if I catch some trout tomorrow, would you cook it for supper?”
Benny’s mouth watered at the thought of trout, even though he didn’t like fish that much. But anything would be better than the barely warmed frozen pizza they were eating.
“Sure,” said Mrs. Harrington. “But don’t get your hopes up. Tincup Creek is all fished out.”
“How can a stream be fished out?” asked Benny.
Corey explained, “A lot of streams in the West are in danger. There are more people catching fish than fish being born. The streams need to be restocked with trout.”
No fish in the stream, falling-down cabins, poor food, electricity and phones that went out for no reason. No wonder Eagles Nest had so few tourists, Henry thought as he and Benny went to their cabin.
“I can’t see,” said Benny. “It’s so dark!”
“Let’s open the shade,” Henry suggested. “Maybe a little moonlight will shine in.”
But clouds covered the moon and stars. Henry and Benny couldn’t see anything. But they heard voices arguing.
“It’s only for a couple more days,” said a shrill voice.
“I don’t care! I don’t want to!” whispered a lower voice.
Benny put his hand on Henry’s arm. “Who’s out there?”
“Two women,” said his brother. “I think it’s Marianne and her mother.”
“Or Old Gert,” supplied Benny.
“That’s possible,” Henry said.
Then the one with the shrill voice said, “It’s for a good cause!”
“I don’t care!” said the whisperer. “I won’t do it! I won’t!” Sobbing, she ran down the path.
As Benny got ready for bed in the dark, he wondered about the whisperer. What was it she didn’t want to do? And who was making her do it? |