“How come you’re going to win?” Benny asked the man, who’d said his name was Donald Hodge. “The contest doesn’t end till Saturday”
“Because I found a Papa Bear ruby” Donald said smugly “It’ll be a challenge for anyone to find a bigger stone.”
He pulled a black velvet bag from his pocket and opened the drawstring. A large pinkish rock with red glints tumbled onto his place mat.
Jonathan whistled. “Is that the stone you found in your last bucket today?”
As Jonathan reached for the rock, Donald deftly scooped it up and dropped it back into the velvet bag. “Can’t touch my contest winner,” he said jokingly.
“Like Benny said, the week’s not over,” Sybil reminded Donald. “Somebody could find a ruby in that class that’s bigger than yours, you know.”
Cecil Knight came around with the coffeepot. “Coffee, anyone?” he asked.
“I drink tea,” said Sybil. “But you know that, Cecil.”
“I’ll send the waitress over with hot water,” Mr. Knight said. “Coffee, Mr. Hodge?”
“Thanks,” said Donald. His napkin fell to the floor.
Henry bent down to pick it up, but Donald planted his foot on the red-checked cloth.
“I’ve got it,” he whispered hoarsely, bending down under the table.
While Mr. Knight poured coffee into his cup, Donald took a long time to retrieve his napkin.
Weird, thought Henry.
“How did you all do on your first day?” Mr. Knight asked Grandfather.
“I found a sapphire!” Benny exclaimed, pulling the small stone from his pocket.
“Way to go!” said Mr. Knight. “A perfect Baby Bear.”
Benny stared at his stone. “I thought it was a rock.”
Mr. Knight laughed. “It is a rock, Benny. Let me explain the Ruby Hollow grading system. I use the Three Bears story to make it easy to remember. Any gem under fifteen carats is called a Baby Bear. A Mama Bear gem is fifteen to thirty carats, worth cutting for jewelry. And a Papa Bear is any gem over thirty carats.”
“I didn’t know bears ate carrots,” said Benny, making them all laugh.
“We’re not talking about the vegetable,” said Donald. “A carat is the unit used to measure gems. Just like your weight is measured in pounds.”
“Good luck tomorrow. Give Mr. Hodge some competition,” Mr. Knight said, moving on to the next table.
Violet had been thinking about the Three Bears story.
“What about Goldilocks? Is there a Goldilocks size of ruby?”
“There is a Goldilocks category,” said Jonathan. “It’s not a size, though, but a special kind of ruby. It’s called a star ruby.”
“What’s so special about a star ruby?” Jessie wanted to know.
“Regular rubies look like this.” Sybil leaned forward and held out her hand. A brilliant red stone glittered in a ring on her left hand. “But a star ruby has six rays, like the rays of the sun.”
Jonathan pointed to Sybil’s ring. “See how the stone is cut so it catches the light? That’s called faceting. A star ruby is polished smooth so you can see the rays inside.”
“Has anybody ever found a star ruby here?” asked Henry.
“Only a few people,” Jonathan answered. “Ruby Hollow is the only mine in these mountains where you can find star rubies. I’ve been coming here for years and I’ve never found one.”
“Neither have I,” added Sybil. “A star ruby is the only stone I don’t have in my collection. I’d do anything to find one.” She gave a big sigh.
“I’d love to pick up such an unusual gem, too,” said Jonathan. “For my fiancée’s engagement ring.”
“Maybe we’ll all be lucky this week,” said Henry.
“Mmmmm,” said Benny, waiting for Jessie to ladle gravy on his potatoes. “This is like eating at home.”
Grandfather passed around the platter of chicken. “I like the homey atmosphere, too.”
“That’s because it’s a family-run mine,” said Sybil. “Cecil’s family bought the mine about fifty years ago. I think the family had a falling-out sometime after that. Cecil’s uncle thought the mine should be his. But Cecil has been running this mine ever since I can remember.”
“Imagine owning a ruby mine!” Jessie said. “Wouldn’t that be neat?”
“Cecil has worked hard to make this place a success,” Sybil said. “I hope he can hang on to the mine and do well. He deserves it.”
Just then the waitress returned with plates of peach cobbler topped with melting vanilla ice cream.
At the same moment, Donald rose from his chair so abruptly he collided with her.
Henry jumped up in time to save the tray from crashing to the floor.
“I’m sorry!” Donald said to the waitress. “I didn’t see you.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “This young man saved the dessert!”
“Excuse me,” Donald said to the others at the table. “I’m not a big fan of peach cobbler.” He left the dining room.
“I’m a big fan of peach cobbler,” Benny said to the waitress. “You can give me his, too.”
Everyone laughed.
Jessie was still thinking about the contest. “How can Mr. Knight afford to pay the prize money if his business isn’t doing so well?”
“A lot of people come here for the contest,” Sybil said. “They pay for entry fees, lodging, and meals in the restaurant, have their stones mounted in jewelry, and buy buckets of pre-spaded dirt.”
“Serious rock hounds don’t buy the five-dollar buckets,” Jonathan added. “They spring for the more expensive specialty buckets.”
After dinner, the grown-ups lingered in the rocking chairs on the wide front porch.
The Alden kids strolled down one of the trails behind the cabins. Crickets chirped their end-of-summer song. The mountains rose darkly around them. No moon or stars could be seen in the pitch-black sky.
“Boy,” murmured Henry. “When it’s night here, it’s really night!”
“I can’t wait to start looking for rubies tomorrow,” said Jessie.
“Me, too,” Benny agreed. “Maybe one of us will win the contest.”
“We’d have to find a Papa Bear ruby bigger than Mr. Hodge’s,” said Violet.
“We have as good a chance as anyone else here,” Jessie said confidently.
Snap! Cra-ack!
Henry spun around. “What was that?”
“It sounded like a twig breaking,” Violet said, her heart pounding. What would be in the woods after dark? A bear? A fox?
Suddenly Benny cried, “Look!”
Everyone looked up at the sky. It wasn’t pitch-black anymore.
A round, reddish light like a globe appeared over the peak of a distant mountain. The light hovered in the air a few seconds, then vanished. A moment later, the light reappeared, but in a different spot. Then it was gone again.
“Wow!” exclaimed Henry. “What was that?”
Benny’s voice was low. “It could only be one thing.”
“What?” chorused Jessie and Violet.
“A flying saucer,” he replied solemnly. |