After breakfast the next morning, the Aldens made their lunches in Cousin Charlotte’s kitchen. While they were bagging their lunches, the phone rang.
Jessie ran for it, and the other children listened in. “Cousin Charlotte! We’re fine. We just got our lunches and extra food ready before we leave for town. Then we’re riding to Skeleton Point. We’re even going to spend the night since you said it was okay.” Jessie handed the phone to Henry.
“No, William and Hilda haven’t told us what we’ll be doing next,” Henry said. “All we did yesterday was run an errand, then we hiked home.
Charlotte told them all about her trip with Grandfather. Then she added something surprising. “Before we left yesterday, we came across a plastic skeleton — right by the car!”
“You came across a skeleton yesterday, too? So did we!” Henry said.
After that, the younger children took turns speaking with Cousin Charlotte and Grandfather about some of their adventures the day before. By the time they hung up, they were nearly out of breath.
Henry handed the other children their lunches. “Cousin Charlotte’s going to tell William to let us into Dr. Tibbs’s study this afternoon. She wants us to count everything so she knows exactly what’s there before she sends it to the medical school.”
“What about the missing statue?” Violet asked. “Did you mention it to her?”
Henry’s face grew serious. “I didn’t have the heart to tell her about that yet. I was thinking we could bike to town and visit Hilda’s studio. Without William around, maybe she’ll tell us what she knows about the statues. So what do you say guys? Everybody ready?”
Ten minutes later, the children headed into town, biking carefully now that their bikes were loaded down with their sleeping bags and overnight things. They parked their bikes in front of the drugstore to pick up film for Benny.
Benny unzipped his bike bag to get his camera. “Hey, my pictures aren’t in here with my camera. They were in my bike bag yesterday.”
“Are you sure?” Jessie asked Benny. “Did you leave it unzipped? I hope the pictures didn’t fall out while we were biking.”
Benny shook his head. “No way. I zipped everything up. Remember? I left the bike bag on the porch when we went out in the boat and picked it up when we got back.”
Jessie had a suggestion. “Then the pictures must be out at Skeleton Point. We’ll look around when we go there this afternoon.”
While Jessie ran into the drugstore to get the film, Henry took out the map Charlotte had given him. “Hilda’s studio is the next block over,” he said when Jessie came out again. “Let’s go see if she’s there.”
When the children rang Hilda’s bell, no one answered. A sign with an arrow pointing to the back of the house read, STUDIO. The children walked along quietly, looking in the windows of the house to see if anyone was around. A sign on the garage door read, STUDIO CLOSED.
Jessie cupped her hands over the tall windows of the studio. Then she waved for the other children to come over and look inside, too.
“The Clover Dodge statue!” Violet whispered when she peeked in.
Hilda was seated at a cluttered worktable facing away from the Aldens. The statue stood in the middle of the table. Also on the table were a life-sized skull and a skeleton of a hand. Hilda was bent over a large drawing pad, sketching a large stone arm that looked familiar to the Aldens.
The children tiptoed away.
“We have to decide what to do next,” Jessie said.
“A book I noticed on a shelf in the studio gave me an idea,” Violet said. “The title was, Sculptures of Clover Dodge. It must be the name of the sculptor who made the statue. My idea is to go to the library and see if we can find out more about Clover Dodge.”
“Good thinking,” Henry said. “One other thing. I didn’t get a real good look, but the stone arm Hilda had in there looked like the missing one from the angel statue.”
Jessie checked her watch. “I know. Well, let’s get to the library like Violet suggested. It’s just down the street.”
“Can Henry and I wait for you outside?” Benny asked when the children came to the town library.
“Sure,” Violet said, setting off with Jessie. “We’ll be back in a while.”
When the girls found the librarian, they handed him the piece of paper with the title of the art book they wanted. “My sister and I are interested in this book about a sculptor named Clover Dodge. The book isn’t on the shelf. Do you know when it’s due back?”
“Clover Dodge?” the librarian asked. “Isn’t it funny how some books aren’t checked out for ages, then suddenly everybody wants them at the same time? Clover Dodge was a well-known sculptor at the turn of the last century. But her work disappeared, and people forgot about her.” The man checked the library computer. “I see one of our local artists, Hilda Stone, checked it out. It’s reserved for William Mason next, but I can reserve it for you after he brings it back.”
“Hmm, no,” Jessie said. “Thank you anyway.”
Minutes later, the girls met their brothers outside and told them what they had discovered.
“Wow! So William is interested in Clover Dodge, too,” Jessie said. “I wonder if he and Hilda are up to something together with the statues.”
“Let’s go back to the studio and find out what Hilda has to say,” said Jessie.
The rest of the Aldens nodded in agreement. They were always ready for an investigation.
Henry led the way. “While we’re walking, Benny can tell you what we discovered while you and Violet were in the library.”
Benny couldn’t keep his secret another minute. “The scary rock with the door is called Dead Man’s Cave, only there aren’t any dead people in it,” he announced.
Jessie’s and Violet’s eyebrows shot up.
Henry grinned at the two girls. “Benny and I went to check old maps in the town hall. There are a couple small caves, not very deep ones, on Skeleton Point. One of them is called Dead Man’s Cave. The man we met at the general store works in the land records department. He said that a long time ago kids used to hike up there. He’d heard they’d turned the cave into a hideout or a clubhouse. They called it Dead Man’s Cave to scare other kids away.”
“But we’re not scared,” Benny said. “We can go there this afternoon, right, Henry?”
“You bet,” Henry said. “But first let’s see what Hilda is doing with all those skeletons and statue parts from Skeleton Point.”
When the children returned to the studio, the STUDIO CLOSED sign was still on the door. This didn’t stop the Aldens.
“Hi, Hilda! It’s the Aldens,” Jessie yelled as she rapped on the window.
Hilda whirled around, startled to see four pairs of eyes staring at her. She opened the door slightly. “What are you doing here? My studio is closed right now.”
Violet looked past Hilda. “Oh, so you have the Clover Dodge statue,” she said before the young woman could block her view. “Are you fixing it? I’d love to see how.”
Hilda stared at Violet. “I’m not here to teach art classes, Violet. I’m here to... well, I haven’t time to explain.”
Henry, who was taller than Hilda, peered right over her shoulder. “Are you fixing the arm from the angel statue, too? Charlotte will be glad you got started on that.”
Hilda studied the Aldens’ faces. “What do you mean? William was the one who got me working on the angel statue, not Charlotte. He told me she left most of the decisions up to him.” Hilda pushed the door to keep the children back. “I really must get back to my work. I’ll see you at Skeleton Point later this afternoon.”
The Aldens had a lot more to say, but they never got the chance. After she slammed the door, Hilda walked over to the windows and pulled the shades down one by one. |