The Mystery of the Black Raven (5 page)

T
he older lady sat down on the bed, and the children settled around her. From a side pocket of her tote, she pulled out an old envelope.

“I found this while I was going through my great-uncle’s belongings,” Miss Parker explained. “One of my Blake cousins sent me boxes of his things. She didn’t want them cluttering up her apartment.”

“What was in the boxes?” asked Benny.

“Nothing of great value,” the teacher replied. “Things of sentimental value, but not worth much money. But this was interesting.”

She opened the worn envelope.

Violet leaned forward. She could barely read the fine, spidery writing. It was addressed to Edward James Alden in Greenfield, Connecticut. A faint postmark was stamped April 16, 1910. The letter had been mailed to her ancestor!

“That was sent to Grandfather’s great-uncle,” she said.

“Yes, it was,” said Miss Parker. She pulled out several sheets of tissue-thin paper filled with the same spidery handwriting. “I won’t read you all of the letter because people in those days took a long time to get to the point. Basically it says my great-uncle couldn’t make it to the annual Four Rock Miners reunion in Skagway.”

“Why not?” Henry asked. “I thought it was a tradition.”

“It was, but Uncle Pete’s little daughter was very ill. He couldn’t leave his family. It was a long trip from Wisconsin to Alaska and he didn’t have the money, either.”

“So what happened that year?” Jessie asked with interest. “Did they go?” This was a new twist. She thought the miners always met in Skagway, no matter what.

“The other three did,” Miss Parker replied, carefully refolding the letter and slipping it back into the envelope. She tucked the envelope into the outside pocket of her bag.

“And your great-uncle didn’t go?” asked Violet.

“Yes, Pete Blake stayed in Wisconsin. But you see, he had to pass the scrapbook and raven on to Harold Bell that year. So Pete asked Edward Alden what to do—mail the scrapbook and raven to Harold so he would have it for the reunion, or what?”

“Did they have mail back in those days?” asked Benny.

That broke them all up.

“Yes,” said Miss Parker, wiping her eyes. “And it was after the Pony Express! Anyway, the other three men wrote to one another and decided to let Pete keep the scrapbook and raven for another year, for luck. Since money was tight and his daughter was sick, maybe having those things would help.”

“And did it?” Jessie wanted to know.

Miss Parker shrugged. “Well, my uncle’s daughter
did
get well and he got another job later that year. Who knows? I’m not a superstitious person, but back then a lot of people were. In fact, some people still won’t walk under ladders or let a black cat cross their path.”

“I’m super—whatever you said,” Benny put in. “I never walk under ladders.”

Everyone laughed again.

Miss Parker continued, “A new tradition was started. If any of the miners was having trouble of some sort, he was allowed to keep the scrapbook and statue an extra year. Or he could receive them out of turn to ‘change his luck.’”

“Grandfather didn’t know this?” asked Henry. Grandfather was the only member of the reunion group who had been attending the reunions for many years.

Miss Parker shook her head. “He had never heard of this tradition. No one knew about it until I found the letter. That’s why I brought it with me. When the original miners died, this part of the reunion remained a secret.”

Henry looked at Jessie. Jessie nodded back. She was thinking what he was thinking. Maybe the scrapbook and raven weren’t worth money, but they might be valuable as good-luck charms. But who else knew about the letter?

Miss Parker sighed. “I feel so bad those things were stolen from your grandfather. They had been in my care, so in a way, I feel responsible—”

Just then Violet heard something outside, a slight shuffling sound. Was someone listening through the door?

“Keep talking,” she whispered, sliding off the bed.

The others continued a general conversation as she crept over to the door.

Violet turned the handle silently and peered through the crack. She didn’t see anyone. Opening the door wider, she looked down the hall. Was the door to room 309 closing? Or was it her imagination? The corridor wasn’t very well lit.

She went back into the room.

“Anybody?” queried Henry.

Violet shook her head. “But I thought for
sure
I heard something out there.”

“I should let you children get to bed,” said Miss Parker. “It’s late. See you in the morning.”

Later, when the boys were across the hall in their room, Jessie asked Violet more about what she had heard.

“It sounded like shoes shuffling on a rug,” she explained. “But I didn’t see anybody. Except …”

“Except what?”

“Well, I thought I saw the door to room 309 closing when I looked down the hall,” Violet said with a yawn.

Jessie said, “That’s the Wilsons’ room.”

“I know,” said Violet. “I suppose Steve or Jennifer could have been out filling their ice bucket.”

A few minutes later, Jessie realized that Violet was wrong. “Getting ice is the bellhop’s job,” Jessie said. “Anyway, Steve and Jennifer are too nice to listen at doors.”

Violet didn’t reply. She was fast asleep.

Jessie stared at the ceiling, trying to sort her thoughts. But she was too tired to think about the mystery anymore. The Wilsons weren’t the type to listen at doors. Were they?

Soon she was asleep herself.

Early the next morning, the Alden children went downstairs to breakfast. They located a table in the back where they could review the mystery in private.

“Miss Parker’s letter is definitely a clue,” Henry declared. “We must keep it a secret between Miss Parker, Grandfather, and us.”

“Someone else might know about it. I’m pretty sure someone was listening to us last night,” Violet said. Then she told the boys how she had seen the door to the Wilsons’ room slowly closing. “But they’re too nice to spy,” she added.

“They are nice,” Henry agreed. “But we can’t let that fool us. Remember yesterday, when they were talking about selling the nugget watch chain to buy a house and furniture?”

“That was just talk,” Violet said.

“Well,
someone
took Grandfather’s scrapbook and statue. We shouldn’t trust anyone,” Henry said.

“Not even Miss Parker?” asked Benny. He liked her a lot.

Jessie tugged at her ponytail. “I think Henry’s right. We really can’t trust anyone. Suppose Miss Parker is in trouble and she needed to keep the scrapbook and raven another year, for luck.”

“Why wouldn’t she just tell the others about the letter at the reunion dinner and ask to keep them?” Violet reasoned. “Or at least tell Grandfather. I’m sure he’d let her have them another year.”

“Stealing from Grandfather seems like a lot of trouble,” Henry said. “Violet’s right. Miss Parker doesn’t seem like the sneaky type.”

“Okay, let’s rule out Miss Parker,” Jessie said, relieved.

Before they could name any other suspects, the rest of the reunion party joined them.

“All set for a big day?” Grandfather asked the children, signaling the waiter for a pot of coffee. “We’re going to pan for gold!”

“I hope I find lots of gold,” Benny said eagerly. He jumped up from the table. “Let’s go!”

Grandfather laughed. “Wait a second, Benny! We haven’t even had breakfast yet!”

Miss Parker joined them, giving the Aldens a knowing wink. Jessie figured the older woman was glad they were on the case.

The Wilsons claimed the table next to them. Jennifer was as cheerful as always. Today she wore a pastel yellow sweater with geese stitched on the front. Her dark hair was held back with a yellow headband. Steve wore a plaid red-and-black shirt.

“I’ve decided to dress like the miners,” he joked.

The Pittmans were late, as usual. They came into the dining room squabbling over who had gotten the least amount of sleep the night before.

“That mattress is a killer,” grumbled Mrs. Pittman. “I’d be better off sleeping on the floor, except it’s so cold.”

“I wish I had my pillow from home,” Monique griped, drooping in her seat.

After they had all ordered, Grandfather told them about the day’s activity plan.

“We’re walking down to the Skagway River,” he announced. “The cruise ships dock there, so we can look at those.”

“Who wants to look at a bunch of dumb old boats?” said Mark Pittman sourly.

Ignoring the teen’s remark, Grandfather went on. “Then we’ll head for the beach and let the young people pan for gold. The oldsters can pan, too,” he added with a chuckle.

“How long is this trip going to take?” asked Mr. Pittman.

“We’ll be gone the better part of the day,” Grandfather replied. “I’ve already arranged for the hotel to fix us box lunches. That way we won’t have to run back into town and find a restaurant.”

Mrs. Pittman nodded. “At least box lunches are cheaper.”

“I hope I don’t get a peanut butter sandwich,” said Monique, wrinkling her nose. “Or yucky old bologna.”

“I’ll take yours!” Benny offered. He loved both peanut butter and bologna.

Grandfather cleared his throat. “I’m sure the hotel will fix nice lunches. As Benny suggested, we can always trade with one another.”

Monique and Mark rolled their eyes at each other, bored before they had even begun the day. Violet hoped the teenagers wouldn’t spoil Benny’s fun. Her little brother was so excited about panning for gold.

When breakfast was over, the group met outside the dining room.

The hotel clerk was looking around the lobby. A cart with white rectangular boxes and small backpacks waited by the desk.

“Howie?” the clerk called. “Where is that boy?”

Benny saw where Howie was. The bellhop was hiding behind the totem pole with the raven carved on it. The young man had been listening to the reunion group’s plans.

Why was the bellhop so nosy?

T
he desk clerk finally noticed Howie standing behind the totem pole. He called the bellhop over.

“You should have packed these lunches into those backpacks by now,” the clerk scolded. “Do it quickly. We don’t want to delay this party.”

In no time, Howie slid a white box into each of the nylon packs and distributed one to each of the reunion members.

“Mine is red,” Benny remarked.

“So is mine,” said Miss Parker, slipping the straps over her shoulders. “Our packs will be easy to spot.”

The group left the lobby and walked down Broadway. It was warmer today. Soon everyone had peeled off the extra jacket or sweater.

“Here’s a hardware store,” Grandfather said, stopping at a building.

“Why are we going into a stupid old hardware store?” grumbled Monique.

“To buy pans,” answered Grandfather. “You want to pan for gold, don’t you?”

“It sounds like work,” Monique said, blocking the doorway.

Miss Parker took the girl’s hand and led her into the store so the rest could enter. “Don’t be silly, Monique. It’ll be fun! Who knows what we’ll find?”

Grandfather picked out four round tin pans for the Aldens and a small, inexpensive shovel.

Mr. Pittman said, “I suppose I have to fork over good money on tools for my kids, too. Something they’ll use once.”

“I’ll purchase all the pans,” Grandfather said generously, adding two more to the pile on the counter. “We’ll share the shovel.”

At the last minute, Steve bought a pan for himself and Jennifer. “Maybe we’ll get lucky!” he said.

Get lucky.
Jessie thought about Steve’s words as they walked down to the harbor. Violet thought she’d seen the Wilsons’ door closing last night. The Wilsons were newlyweds; they didn’t have much money. Could they have stolen the scrapbook and raven statue to bring them luck?

Two huge cruise ships were moored in the harbor. One was called the
Sea Star,
the other
Princess of the Waves.
The ships were enormous.

“I want a boat like that when I grow up!” Benny exclaimed.

“How are you going to sail it?” asked Henry, smiling.

“I think you need a big crew to help you run such a big boat. Don’t you remember that cruise we took?” Violet asked.

“You’ve been on a cruise?” Edie Pittman asked sharply.

“Yes,” said Jessie. “Grandfather took us. We had a great time.”

“Okay, we’ve seen the ships. Big deal. When are we going to get this show on the road?” asked Mark.

The coastline curved inland where the cruise ships were anchored in deep water, then jutted out again. That was where the daily ferry docked. The group followed a long spit of land. Gulls shrieked overhead, sometimes dipping low.

At last the reunion party reached the beach where they were permitted to pan for gold. A guide who worked there explained the rules.

“While you’re with me, you may pan as long as you like,” he said. “And you may keep whatever gold you find.”

The reunion party members weren’t the only tourists on the beach. Other tour groups were trying their luck as well.