Mystery of the Hot Air Balloon (3 page)

“It just looks that way,” Henry said.

Matt thrust his head out the window. “No, no. Violet’s right! The balloon
is
coming down!”

“It can’t be,” Sky said. “It’s over the woods. If it comes down there, it’ll get tangled in the trees.”

Trying to keep the balloon in sight, they drove along the road. Coming to a large, open field filled with trucks and people preparing their balloons for flight, Sky turned in and stopped. She hopped out of the van and ran toward a small group of people, shouting, “Who’s up there?”

Matt and the Aldens raced after her.

A large man broke from the group. “If this is the way you’re going to run things, you’ll never be successful,” he said.

“Who’s up there?” Sky persisted.

“Who knows,” the man answered. “Your whole operation is a disaster.”

He kept talking, but Sky wasn’t listening. She turned to the others gathered there. “Did anyone see who launched that balloon?” she asked.

No one had.

“Don Fister was the only one here when we arrived,” a woman said.

Don Fister, the man who was complaining, snapped, “Oh, no! You’re not going to blame me for this. That balloon was airborne when I got here.”

“Calm down, Don,” Sky said. “No one’s blaming you for anything.”

Another woman hurried over to the scene. Although the woman’s graying hair was windblown, and she wasn’t wearing white gloves, Benny recognized her. He poked Jessie. “That’s the woman we saw leave the inn,” Benny whispered.

“What woman?” Jessie asked.

“You know — Mary. The one who was arguing with Barbara.”

“I was afraid of something like this,” Mary was saying. “Too many trees for ballooning. It’s just not safe. You should rethink this, Ms. Blair. There are plenty of places more suitable for your business.”

“Business? Ha!” Don Fister said. “It’s a joke, that’s what it is. They don’t have a business. They have a plan for failure.”

Sky wasn’t paying any attention. “Come on, Matt,” she said. “We have to go after that balloon.” She turned and headed toward the van.

The Aldens hung back. Should they go along? Would they be in the way?

Matt answered their unspoken question. “Hurry!” he said to them. “That balloon’s in trouble! We can’t waste a minute!”

“That Don Fister sure was nasty,” Benny commented as they drove away from the launch site.

Matt waved his hand. “Don’t pay any attention to him,” he said. “He’s full of hot air.”

“Like the balloons,” Soo Lee said.

Benny laughed. “That’s a good joke, Soo Lee.”

Sky laughed, too. “And true,” she said. “Don owns a balloon business a few hours away. He thinks he’s the only one who knows anything about ballooning. But I must admit, he’s a crackerjack balloonist.”

“Yeah,” Matt agreed. “He doesn’t like us but he never misses a rally. Don loves competition.”

They made several wrong turns before they found the balloon. It was suspended from an oak tree at the edge of a small clearing in the forest preserve.

“The basket looks empty,” Jessie said as they climbed out of the van.

“Let’s hope it is,” Sky said.

Matt climbed the tree. Looking down into the basket, he said, “It’s empty all right.”

“How’s the balloon?” Sky asked.

Matt examined the brightly colored cloth. “Looks pretty good. No big tears. Now, if I can just — ”

They all held their breath as Matt reached out to release the balloon.

“Got it!”

The basket fell at their feet with a thud. The deflated balloon floated down on top of it.

“This balloon is small,” Benny observed.

Struggling to help fold it, Henry said, “It looks big to me.”

“Me, too,” Soo Lee put in.

“Compared to ours, this balloon
is
small,” Matt said.

“Ours can carry a larger basket — which means more people can fit inside,” Sky added.

Everyone helped pack the balloon and basket into the van.

On the way back to the port, Henry asked, “How did the balloon escape?”

“Someone had to inflate it and let it go,” Matt explained.

“Maybe it was an accident,” Violet suggested.

“Right,” Benny said. “Probably whoever blew it up, didn’t mean to let it go.”

“Possible,” Sky said, “but not likely.”

“Wouldn’t the owner of the balloon have said something?” Jessie asked.

“I should think so,” Sky said. “The owner would be very upset.”

Suddenly Soo Lee said, “Maybe someone
meant
to let the balloon go.”

Matt nodded. “I think you’re right, Soo Lee. This was no accident.”

Before the van had come to a complete stop, a man ran up waving his arms and shouting.

“I think I know who owns the runaway balloon,” Matt said.

“Brad Golder,” Sky said.

At the van window, Brad Golder, a thin, balding man, asked urgently, “Did you find it? Did you find my balloon?”

Sky pointed her thumb toward the back of the van. “Relax, Brad. Everything’s under control,” she assured him.

“Under control? Is that what you think? Someone steals my balloon and you say everything’s under control?”

Matt came around the side of the van and put his hand on Brad’s shoulder.

“What happened, Brad?” Matt asked. “Where were you when your balloon was launched?”

Trying to calm himself, Brad took several deep breaths. Then he said, “I left my gear near my truck and went into town for breakfast. When I got back here, it was gone. Don told me my balloon was in the sky. I’ve been frantic.” He began to pace. “If anything’s happened to that balloon, you’re responsible. If this is the kind of business you’re going to run, maybe we don’t need it around here.”

“It looks all right,” Sky told him. “Why don’t we get it out and take a look.”

Sky opened the back of the van, and they hoisted the balloon down.

As they spread out the balloon, Don Fister wandered over. “That balloon’s a goner,” he said. “This whole operation is over before it starts.”

“Listen, Fister,” Matt said. “You’re wrong.”

“Let’s take a look at this,” Sky said changing the subject as she began to examine the balloon spread out before them.

They went over the nylon covering inch by inch. Brad found a small tear. “Easy to repair,” he decided. He was obviously relieved that there was so little damage.

Mary joined the group. Benny noticed that her hair was still messy.

“Is everything under control here?” she asked.

Henry spoke up. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “Mr. Golder’s balloon wasn’t badly damaged.”

“Ah, but it
could
have been. That is the point,” she said. Without smiling she thrust out her hand. “I’m Mary England. I don’t believe we’ve met. Pleased to meet you, I’m sure,” she said.

The Aldens didn’t think she seemed at all pleased.

At the other side of the field, a car pulled in. A man got out.

“There’s the press,” Don Fister commented. “Wait until they find out about this little misadventure.”

A
n older man approached. His glasses were perched on the top of his head. Under his arm was a large brown envelope.

“Is he a reporter?” Jessie asked.

“That’s Hollis McKnight,” Sky answered. “He’s the owner and editor of
The Landing Times
, the local newspaper.” She started toward him. “Oh, Mr. McKnight, I have the money for the ad,” she told him.

Mr. McKnight said, “I’ll get the money later. Right now I have to speak with Mary.” He took Mary England’s arm and led her away.

“Did you tell McKnight what’s been going on around here?” Don Fister said.

Matt ignored him.

Sky touched Matt’s arm. “Come on, Matt,” she said. “Don will cool off. In the meantime, let’s show the Aldens what this balloon business is all about.” She started toward a small shed at one corner of the field.

The Aldens followed.

“One of these days, we’re going to enlarge this storage shed,” Sky told them.

“We’re going to make it into a lounge,” Matt added. “With tables and chairs.”

“And a big window so people can see the balloons ascend,” Sky said.

“Will there be anything to eat?” Benny asked.

“A well-equipped snack bar,” Matt answered.

Benny was glad to hear that.

At the shed, Sky said, “Tomorrow you’ll be part of our chase crew.”

“And you’ll help with the launch,” Matt added.

“Wait here,” Sky instructed. “We want to show you some of our equipment.” She and Matt unlocked the shed and went inside.

Not far away, Hollis McKnight and Mary England were in a heated conversation.

“What do you suppose that’s all about?” Henry wondered aloud.

“Why is Mary’s hair all messed up?” Benny asked. “She looks like she’d always be combed. Not like me.”

“Probably the wind,” Violet suggested.

Soo Lee looked around. She studied a nearby tree. Not a single leaf was moving. “There is no wind,” she said.

“She probably had her car windows open,” Jessie decided.

“What’s Mr. McKnight doing?” Henry said.

The man pulled a stack of something — letters? — from the brown envelope. He waved them in Mary’s face. She turned away.

Mr. McKnight kept talking. Suddenly, Mary turned around to face him. She said something and dug in her purse. Whatever she pulled out flashed in the sunlight.

“It’s a mirror,” Henry said.

“And a comb,” Violet added as Mary began smoothing her hair.

Sky came out of the shed. Matt followed, carrying a metal box.

“This is the instrument package,” Sky told the Aldens.

They crowded around as Matt lifted the flight instruments out of the box.

Sky pointed to a round dial. “This is the variometer,” she said. “It tells us our vertical speed.”

Matt pointed to another gauge. “Altimeter,” he identified. “It tells us our altitude — how high up in the sky we are. And that last dial measures the temperature inside the balloon.”

“Why do you have to know the temperature inside the balloon?” Soo Lee asked.

“The air in the balloon has to be kept at just the right temperature or the balloon will not do what the pilot wants it to,” Matt answered.

“How do you heat the air?” Violet asked.

“Propane gas,” Sky answered. “You’ll see the tanks later.”

Benny studied the instruments. Even Grandfather’s station wagon had more dials. “Are these all the instruments you need?”

“A compass helps,” Sky said.

“And a map,” Matt added.

“I’m good at map reading,” Benny said proudly. “I even made a map of our neighborhood.”

Sky smiled. “Good. Tomorrow, when you’re part of the chase crew, those skills will come in handy.”

Hollis McKnight joined the group. “I’ll take that money now, Ms. Blair,” he said.

Sky dug her wallet from her back pocket. “I’ve made a couple of changes in the ad copy,” she said. She handed Mr. McKnight a check and a folded piece of paper. “Do you want to go over them?”

Mr. McKnight shook his head. “I’m sure I’ll be able to figure out the changes.” Then he walked away.

Don Fister ran up beside him. “Mr. McKnight,” he said, “let me tell you what’s been going on here.”

McKnight waved him away, saying, “Not now. Not now.”

“What kind of newspaper editor are you?!” Don Fister shouted after him. Then, he stomped off.

Matt shook his head. “That Don is nothing but trouble,” he said.

Sky didn’t respond. Instead, she went on talking about ballooning. “Teamwork is the most important aspect of ballooning,” she said. “Everyone has a job. And they must do it well.”

The Aldens became so interested in their ballooning lessons they didn’t hear Pete Moran pull in.

“Lunch!” Pete announced as he opened the back of the station wagon.

Benny heard that. So did everyone else. Balloonists quickly gathered near the station wagon. Using the back of the station wagon as a table, Pete spread out an assortment of cold salads and breads.

Henry stepped forward. “Do you need help?” he asked Pete.

Pete nodded. “You could hand out the plates.”

Henry took the paper plates and stood beside the station wagon. Jessie took the plastic utensils.