The Legend of Miner's Creek (12 page)

Nancy looked over to see a splash of barbecue
sauce dribble down the front of Charlie's jacket. Rachel was holding the bowl of sauce that Pete had been using to baste the roast and apologizing profusely to her grandfather. Nancy guessed that Rachel had spilled the sauce on Charlie's jacket on purpose.

“Don't worry about it,” Charlie told Rachel. “I'll just run up to the lodge and change.”

So that had been Rachel's idea, Nancy thought, making an effort to keep a smile off her face.

“Remember, that has to be dry-cleaned,” Rachel called after him loudly. “Just hang it by the door, and I'll take it to the cleaners tomorrow.”

“Nice touch,” Nancy whispered to Rachel a moment later. “You should be a detective.”

“Do you really think so?” Rachel looked pleased. “I hope I didn't overdo it.”

“You were perfect,” Nancy said. “Our trap is set.”

A few minutes later Charlie reappeared, minus his lightweight jacket.

“I was too warm, anyway,” he assured Rachel with a wink, then returned to his plate of meat and salad.

Nancy munched on fresh fruit, while George promised her the roast was well worth the calories.

“We should save some for Bess,” George said.

But Nancy was too busy watching everyone to eat very much. Finally, with dinner over, Pete excused himself.

“I've got horses to feed and an early day tomorrow,” he said.

Nancy watched as he disappeared into the barn. Where he would go from there, she could only guess. In the dark it was impossible to see the lodge from the barbecue area.

Maddie and B.D. were the next to say good night, and the Smythes followed close behind.

“I'd better be going, too,” Tyler said. “I've got a plane to catch tomorrow, and I have to finish my report.”

Nancy watched Tyler walk away. Then she heard a voice behind her.

“I just wanted to apologize in person for the thing with the quartz,” the woman said.

Nancy spun around to see Shirley Kauffman talking to Rachel.

“What do you mean?” Rachel asked.

“About Aaron taking your quartz. I'm really sorry. We had a talk with him about it. He just got all wrapped up in the story about Jeremiah, didn't you, Aaron?” Shirley Kauffman was holding the little boy's hand, and he looked down sheepishly.

“I was prospecting, like Jeremiah Benner,” Aaron said.

“Aaron took the quartz?” Rachel said in surprise.

“Why, yes. I told Pete that when I returned it.” Now Shirley looked confused. “I was going to bring it back to the lodge, but Pete offered to take it. That was Thursday—after the trail ride.”

Rachel stared at Shirley. “It's all right, of course,” she finally blurted out. “I'm sure Aaron didn't mean any harm. And thank you . . . for returning it.”

Shirley Kauffman nodded and released Aaron's hand. As soon as he was free, Aaron galloped away, waving his arms and shouting, “We're rich, we're rich! I struck it rich!” in what Nancy guessed was an imitation of Jeremiah Benner and his burro hurrying down the mountain.

Shirley Kauffman shook her head in dismay before trotting after her unruly son. Frank followed behind them.

“We may have made a mistake, accusing Pete of taking the quartz,” Rachel said, coming up to Nancy. George was right behind her. She'd heard the conversation, too.

“But why didn't Pete say anything?” George asked.

“Maybe he felt there wasn't much to say, once the quartz was gone from the barn,” Nancy told her. “Anyway, we'll know soon if he's been involved in any of the incidents.”

“What's this about my quartz?” Charlie leaned over Rachel's shoulder.

“Granddad, so much has happened that I haven't had a chance to tell you. Bess found your quartz in the barn. I have it in my room now,” Rachel explained. “We thought Pete stole it, but it looks as if we were wrong.” She told her grandfather what Shirley Kauffman had just said.

“I guess I can straighten that out tomorrow,” Charlie said.

The girls began to help Elsa clean up.

“I suppose,” Elsa said, “that we can't go back to the lodge for a while.”

Charlie laughed and put his hand on her shoulder. “You always were a smart one,” he said. “What else have you figured out?”

“I haven't figured out a thing,” she said. “But you're all moving around here like snails, when we could have this place slicked up and be straight off to bed in no time.”

“I guess we'd better do something else, then,” Nancy said with a laugh. “How about sitting around the campfire and singing songs?”

It took some coaxing, but Nancy finally got all of her friends in lawn chairs around the dying coals of the fire. After a few choruses of “Oh! Susannah” and “Red River Valley,” everyone began to relax.

“Thank you for a great barbecue,” Nancy said to Charlie and Rachel when a half hour had gone by. “Now let's go check our trap.”

Charlie and Rachel carried buckets of water from a nearby horse trough to drown the fire. Then, with armloads of bowls and platters, the group started casually up the driveway toward the lodge.

Once inside, the girls hurried to the kitchen to deposit dirty dishes.

“You detectives run along now,” Elsa said. “I'll take care of the dishes.”

“Thanks, Elsa,” Rachel said. “I'll make it up to you tomorrow.”

Nancy, George, Rachel, and Charlie gathered around the coatrack by the front door.

Charlie reached into the pocket of his soiled jacket and pulled out the map.

“It wasn't stolen,” Rachel said, sounding disappointed.

“Let's find out if it was read,” Nancy said. She brought a piece of white paper from the desk and placed it on the floor.

Charlie carefully unfolded the map over the paper and shook it gently. The black sand was gone!

“Someone's read the map, all right,” Nancy said. “Now we have to find out who.”

“I'm putting this in a safe place right now.” Charlie refolded the map and started toward his office. “It really will make a nice addition to the display, don't you think?”

“That's a good idea,” Nancy agreed. “We'll use my copy from now on.”

Nancy glanced at her watch. “Our thief may be watching to make sure we all go to bed. Let's try to get a few hours' sleep. We'll meet back here at three
A.M
. That should give us time to get to the canyon before first light, right?”

“Right,” Charlie said. “And I think I'll call the sheriff and let him know what we're up to, just in case.”

As they walked back to their cabin, George said
to Nancy, “It's strange not having Bess here with us.”

“I know,” Nancy said with a sigh. “But I'm glad the doctor kept her at the hospital overnight. She needs her rest, and no one here is going to get much.”

“That's for sure. I just wish I were sleepy now,” George said. “I can't stop wondering if we're really going to find a gold mine tomorrow.”

“And who else will be there,” Nancy said as the two of them climbed into their bunks. “I still have a feeling there are some surprises left in this mystery.”

“I think it's Tyler,” George said. “Maybe Maddie and Pete are both helping him.”

“Maybe,” Nancy said, just before she drifted off to sleep.

A few hours later Nancy awoke with a start, quickly hitting the button to turn off her small travel alarm clock. She reached for the flashlight that she had placed under her pillow earlier. As she climbed out of bed, Nancy flashed the light on George's bunk. Her dark-haired friend was still sound asleep.

“Wake up, it's time.” Nancy shook George gently.

“Huh? What's going . . . oh, right.” George opened her eyes, slowly remembering why her friend was shaking her at three o'clock in the morning.

“It's that time already?” she said. “I feel as if I just got to sleep.”

“It's that time,” Nancy assured George, handing her jeans and a shirt. “We'd better hurry. The others will be here soon.”

Nancy and George dressed in the dark and sat silently, waiting for a knock on the door. It was only a few minutes until they heard a gentle rapping.

“Rachel? Charlie? Is that you?” Nancy said softly through the closed door.

“Yes,” she heard Charlie answer. “Are you ready?”

Nancy opened the door of the cabin, and she and George stepped out into the moonlight. She saw that Rachel was carrying a large flashlight, which she hadn't turned on, and Charlie had a walkie-talkie.

“I'm taking this in case we need to contact the sheriff,” Charlie explained. “I've already asked him to be ready to help about the time the sun comes up.”

“Good idea,” Nancy said. She looked down the driveway. Both Tyler's cabin and Pete's house were completely dark.

The three girls followed Charlie to the jeep and climbed in. He had moved it to the driveway side of the barn, and Nancy noticed it was pointing downhill.

“Hold on,” Charlie whispered when everyone was seated. He released the parking brake, and the
open jeep began to roll slowly down the hill. He steered it onto the driveway and let it bounce along in silence until they were almost to the main road.

When Charlie finally turned on the engine, the jeep was far enough away from the cabins and Pete's house to keep from disturbing any of the guests. They continued along the dusty road, with only the moon and stars to light their way.

Charlie shifted into low gear when they drew near Maddie's bird hospital.

“Do you think she heard us?” George asked when they were past.

“I don't know. We were pretty quiet,” Nancy said.

“If she did, she probably thought we were just ‘some fool city folks,' ” Charlie said, mimicking Maddie's voice.

George and Nancy laughed, but Rachel just looked out at the trees going by. Nancy guessed she was still worried that Maddie might show up at the mine site when morning came.

It took another twenty minutes to drive through the dark to the end of the old logging road. Nancy and Rachel jumped out of the jeep and used their flashlights to find a path through the trees to a good hiding place. Charlie parked the jeep behind some large granite boulders. Then the group started up the trail to Prospector's Canyon.

The hike was even more difficult in the dark. Rachel led the way, warning the others when she saw a rock or tree root in the path. Even so, the girls
often tripped. The loose rocks seemed to jump out at them from the path, making the darkness seem like an enemy. Even Nancy was feeling a little shaky by the time they finally arrived at the mouth of the canyon.

Castle Rock looked sinister in the darkness, hanging over the trail like a black shadow in the starlit sky. Occasionally Nancy motioned to the others for quiet, and for a few moments no one moved. Nancy listened for the rattle of rocks being kicked on the trail, or the swish of a tree branch that would tell her another person was in the canyon. She heard only the eerie call of an owl piercing the still night air.

“How long till dawn?” Nancy whispered to Rachel.

“Maybe an hour,” Rachel answered.

“Let's make the most of the darkness while we can,” Nancy said.

They followed Miner's Creek up the canyon until they reached the open hillside, where Nancy, George, and Rachel had found the signs of digging earlier. Nancy and Rachel shined their flashlights up toward the cliffs. The beams revealed a field mouse scampering over the rocks. It froze for a moment, then made a dash for the bushes.

“I don't think anyone is here,” Rachel said.

The girls and Charlie followed Rachel up to the cliffs, and Nancy pulled out her map. Using Rachel's flashlight, they studied the rocks all along the edge of the cliffs.

“There isn't anything like what's shown on the map,” Rachel said.

“Could we be in the wrong place?” George asked.

“I don't think so,” Rachel said slowly. “I know this canyon, and there isn't any other place with the open hillside and the cliffs like this. This has to be the spot.”

“Even if the mine had been buried, I don't know how we'd ever find it,” Charlie said. “The last person who tried didn't seem to have much luck.” He gestured to the empty holes on the hillside. “I guess Jeremiah's gold mine is going to stay a mystery.”

Rachel sighed. “If we can catch whoever's been trying to destroy the retreat, I'll be happy,” she said, but her voice sounded discouraged.

Nancy was disappointed, too. If a mine did exist, it had been well covered. Perhaps in the light it would show up. Or maybe it was all just a story. But the map was convincing. It looked old, the paper yellowed with time. And why would Jeremiah go to the trouble of hiding the map if it weren't the key to the mother lode? Nancy wondered.

“Rachel's right,” she said at last. “We can still make this a success by catching our culprit. Let's find a place to hide.”

Charlie and the girls followed the cliffs to a spot overgrown with heavy brush and trees. They settled down there and waited for morning.

Time seemed to drag by. After nearly an hour of
staying still in their rocky hideaway, Nancy wished she could stretch her legs. She knew the others were probably feeling the same way, but no one complained. Nancy closed her eyes, trying to imagine herself in a big pool of warm water, but the image did little to soothe the cramps in her legs. When Nancy opened her eyes, Rachel was pointing down the hill. A figure in light-colored clothes and a cowboy hat had just come into view on the trail.

Nancy was instantly alert. She looked around and saw that George and Charlie were also intently watching the figure below them. Nancy could see that the person was carrying some sort of bag over one shoulder. Her eyes were riveted to the figure.