Mystery of the Hot Air Balloon (4 page)

A line formed. The first person was about to eat when Brad Golder shouted at Pete, “You’re the one who launched my balloon!”

P
ointing at Pete Moran, Brad Golder said, “You!”

Pete’s mouth dropped open. “I — I — don’t know what you’re talking about,” he sputtered.

Matt stepped forward. “Wait a minute, Brad,” he said. “What makes you think Pete launched your balloon?”

Brad pointed his finger. “His back pocket,” he answered.

Looking puzzled, Pete reached behind him and pulled a red-and-white bandanna from his pocket.

“That’s my bandanna!” Brad said.

Sky took the scarf from Pete. “It’s just a red bandanna,” she said. “It could be anybody’s.”

“Look in the corner,” Brad directed. “You’ll see my initials.”

Sky did as he directed. Sure enough, the letters
B. G.
were written in black ink.

“I always tie two bandannas to my balloon basket: a red one and a blue one. For luck,” Brad explained.

“I didn’t launch your balloon,” Pete told him. “I found that bandanna this morning on my way back from the farmers’ market. I was buying fruit and vegetables for the inn. I stopped at the spring on Mill Road for a cool drink. The bandanna was lying on the ground.”

“That’s true,” Mary England said. “I saw Pete on Mill Road early this morning.”

After that, no one said anything for what seemed like a long time. Finally, Brad mumbled something and walked off.

Pete looked after him. Then, he turned to the waiting group. He forced a smile and said, “Let’s eat.”

“Good idea,” Benny said.

The Aldens took their plates to a tree at the edge of the field.

“If I’d known we would have a picnic, I would have brought our blue cloth,” Jessie said. The blue tablecloth was a reminder of their days in the boxcar.

“And I would have brought my old pink cup,” Benny put in.

“We’ll do fine without those things,” Henry said.

They sat in a circle in the shade of the oak.

Mopping his forehead with a large white handkerchief, Hollis McKnight came up to them. “More trouble?” he asked as he adjusted his glasses.

“No, sir,” Henry answered.

“Then what was all that commotion by Pete’s station wagon?”

Henry nodded. “Oh, that,” he said. “Brad Golder thought Pete Moran launched his balloon.”

“Now why would he think that?” Mr. McKnight asked.

Jessie told him about the bandanna.

“Pete’s telling the truth,” he said. “I saw him out by the spring this morning.”

“Mary England saw him, too,” Benny told him.

Mr. McKnight glanced down at Benny. His eyes looked very big behind his glasses. “Mary? She told you that? Well, that proves Pete wasn’t anywhere near the port.” Then he said, “Enjoy your lunch,” and hurried away.

“That was strange,” Violet said.

“I thought so, too,” Jessie agreed.

“Why?” Benny asked.

“I don’t think he came over to see what was going on between Brad and Pete,” Jessie explained.

“Instead, he waited to ask us about it,” Violet added.

“A good newspaper person likes to get the information firsthand,” Henry said.

“Maybe he’s not a good newspaper person,” Benny said.

“He seemed to know all about the runaway balloon,” Soo Lee commented.

“Everybody knows about that,” Benny said.

Henry understood what Soo Lee meant. “That’s right,” he said. “Don Fister tried to tell him about it, but Mr. McKnight wouldn’t listen.”

“Someone else probably told him,” Jessie said.

“Mary might have told him,” Violet suggested.

They ate silently, thinking about this morning’s events.

“Do you think Pete launched the balloon?” Benny asked after a while.

“Oh, I don’t think he would do such a thing,” Jessie answered.

“He couldn’t have done it alone,” Henry said.

Remembering this morning’s argument at the inn, Violet said, “ ‘Sometimes we just have to do what we have to do.’ ”

“What does that mean?” Henry asked.

“It’s what Barbara said to Mary this morning at the inn,” Jessie answered. “When they were arguing.”

“Maybe Barbara and Pete launched the balloon,” Benny said.

“Barbara was at the inn with us this morning,” Soo Lee reminded them.

“But Pete wasn’t,” Benny said. “Barbara told us he was running errands.”

“He just told us he was at the farmers’ market,” Jessie said.

“He could have been fibbing,” Soo Lee said.

“Right,” Benny agreed. “Maybe Barbara was nervous because she knew he was launching the balloon, and she was afraid he’d get caught.”

Violet shook her head. “Pete didn’t do it,” she said firmly. “He’s too nice.”

“And why would he?” Benny said.

“T
ime for our first competition!” Sky announced suddenly.

“We’re starting with
Hare and Hounds.
” She explained that one balloon, the hare, would take off first. Shortly after, the other balloons would follow. Whoever landed closest to the hare would win.

“Who’s the hare?” someone asked.

“We’ll choose by lottery,” Matt said. He held up a bowl. In it were folded slips of paper. “On one of these is the word
hare.
”

Excitement shot through the group as the pilots lined up. One by one, they reached into the bowl. One after another, they said, “Hound.”

Don Fister pulled out his paper. He read it, then held it high over his head. “Hare!” he proclaimed.

Sky handed each pilot a map.

Matt said, “I just talked with the weather service. Conditions are perfect.” He turned to the Aldens. “Wait here,” he said. He went to the shed and came out with two small balloons on strings. He handed one to Soo Lee and one to Benny. “When I give the signal, let these balloons go,” he directed.

Violet looked puzzled. These were ordinary party balloons. She couldn’t imagine why they were needed.

Sky answered her unspoken question. “These balloons are filled with helium. Like hot air, it’s lighter than the surrounding atmosphere. We use them to test the winds.”

Matt said, “Now!” and Soo Lee and Benny released the balloons.

Everyone watched the balloons climb and drift. Finally satisfied that they had enough information to make successful flights, the balloonists hurried to their launch sites.

Sky and Matt were not going up today, so they didn’t need the Aldens’ help. “You can watch Don get ready,” Sky suggested.

Don and his crew unpacked their balloon and carefully spread it over the ground. Then, they installed the propane tanks in the basket and tipped it on its side.

“Getting ready to fly is a lot of work,” Benny observed.

“Yes, it is,” Don said. “Especially with my crew, they’re so slow,” he complained.

“And it has to be done correctly,” Henry said, “or they may have trouble.”

Finally, all the equipment was in place and the cables and ropes attached. The crew chief tested everything. Then, he started a gasoline-powered fan. Two crew members lifted the edges of the balloon, opening it to let in the fan’s airstream.

“Henry, you were certainly right,” Violet commented. “Pete Moran couldn’t have launched Brad Golder’s balloon alone.”

“It might have taken more than two people,” Jessie said.

Held down by crew members, the colorful balloon puffed up, swaying gently in the breeze. Don Fister ducked inside.

“Why is he going inside the balloon?” Soo Lee asked.

“He’s checking for tears,” Jessie answered.

“And he’s making sure the opening in the top of the balloon is closed tightly,” Henry said. “It’s called the crown,” he added.

“Why is there an opening in the top of the balloon?” Benny asked. “If it has to be closed anyway . . .”

“It’s called a deflation port,” Henry explained. “When the pilot wants to come down, he pulls a cord to open it.”

Now Benny understood. He nodded. “And that lets air out.”

Don Fister emerged from inside the balloon. “Now for some heat,” he said. He turned a valve and lit the burner. With a loud
whoosh
, a yellow-blue flame shot through the balloon’s mouth, heating the air inside.

Pete Moran, a volunteer crew member, turned off the fan. Others held tight to the balloon ropes. As Don directed a series of heat bursts into the balloon covering, the balloon struggled to be free.

“Ease off!” the crew chief shouted, and the rope handlers loosened their hold.

Then, Don gave the order to let go of the ropes. The balloon rose, swaying, to an upright position.

“It’s going to take off!” Mary England cried.

The crew rushed forward. Mary joined them. They grabbed hold of the basket just as Don Fister hopped inside.

After one last check, Don released another blast of heat. “Hands off!” he instructed, and everyone stood back.

The balloon and basket rose slowly skyward.

“Wow!” Benny exclaimed. “Look at it go!”

Pete Moran started his station wagon. Another volunteer hopped into the passenger seat. They would follow Don’s balloon to its landing site.

Everyone else was busy preparing their own balloons for flight. Before long, five more balloons took off, filling the sky with brilliant color.

“Quite a sight, isn’t it?” Matt said.

“It sure is!” the Aldens agreed.

Five cars pulled out of the port.

“There go the chase crews,” Benny observed.

Mary England came up beside them. “I ripped my stockings on that basket,” she said.

“You shouldn’t have grabbed the basket like that,” Matt said. “That’s the crew’s job.”

Mary ignored him. “I’m going home to change,” she said. “I’ll be back later.”

“Take your time,” Matt said, but Mary was already headed for her car.

One hour later, Brad Golder and his chase crew returned.

“I couldn’t find Fister anywhere,” Brad told them. “It was as if he just . . . disappeared.”

One after another, the balloonists returned, each with the same story: Don Fister was nowhere to be found. The Hare and Hounds contest was canceled.

“That’s strange,” Sky said. “He’s a good pilot, and we marked the maps with the best landing spots.”

“He’ll turn up,” Matt assured her.

When Pete returned without Don, even Matt looked worried.

“Don wasn’t following the course, and we just couldn’t keep up with him,” Pete said.

“Maybe we should all go looking for him,” Benny suggested.

Sky shook her head. “If his own crew couldn’t find him . . .” Her voice trailed off.

“Is there anything we
can
do?” Jessie asked.

Sky shrugged. “Pete can take the chase crew out for another search, and we can wait here to see if Don calls,” she answered.

D
uring the long tense wait, Sky, Matt, and the Aldens sat near the shed and talked about ballooning.

Suddenly, Violet spotted something across the field. It moved steadily toward them, a cloud of dust swirling in its wake. “Is that a truck?” she asked.

Sky got to her feet. “Looks like it,” she said.

Matt shielded his eyes with his hand. “It’s a pickup. There’s a basket in the back.”

“I’ll bet it’s Don Fister,” Benny said.

They hurried toward the oncoming truck and met it where it stopped. Don Fister jumped down from the passenger side. His round face was pinched with anger.

“What happened?” Matt asked.

“Are you all right?” Sky wanted to know.

He waved away their questions. “Help me get my gear,” he said sternly.

Henry and Jessie scrambled into the back of the truck. They began moving equipment toward the tailgate. The others lifted it and set it on the ground. The driver turned the truck around.

“Thanks for everything!” Don called after him as he drove away. Then, he turned toward Sky and Matt. “You want to know what happened? I’ll tell you what happened! I didn’t have a map. That’s what happened.”

Sky was stunned. “But I gave everyone a map.”

“And my compass — that was gone, too!”

“Did you have them when you launched?” Matt asked.

“Yes, I had the map and the compass,” Don snapped. “I checked. My crew chief checked. They were in the basket where they belong.”

“Could they have fallen out?” Benny asked.

“The basket was on its side when you were inflating the balloon,” Henry reminded Don. “Maybe they fell out then.”

Don stomped over to the basket. He reached in and pulled out several maps. “I have these. They didn’t . . . fall out. Can you explain that?”

No one could.

Don answered his own question. “Nothing fell out! Someone stole my map and my compass — that’s what happened.”

“But who?” Sky said. “No one would do such a thing.”

Don began to pace. “I was lucky to find that farmer’s field. And lucky he was so helpful. I don’t know how I would’ve gotten back here without him.”

“You could have phoned. Someone would’ve picked you up,” Matt said.

A crowd had gathered. Everyone wanted to know what had happened. Don told and retold his story.

Henry said, “Let’s go sit in the shade.” He started toward the big oak. The other Aldens followed.