isn’t here to fix everything,” Benny said, resting his head against Violet’s shoulder.
“Wait a minute,” Jessie said, sitting up a little straighter. “That’s it! Cal was fixing something right before he left. Remember?”
The others looked confused.
“What does that have to do with anything, Jessie?” Violet asked. “We don’t even know what Cal was fixing.”
“Well, what if he was fixing some damaged cache boxes?” Jessie asked, her eyes dancing with excitement.
“Then maybe Benny’s theory was correct,” Henry said.
Benny was still confused. “What theory?” he asked. “And what is a theory, anyway?”
“A theory is an idea you have to explain something,” Violet said. “But you don’t know for sure you’re right.”
“Oh.” Benny nodded. Then he wrinkled his nose. “What was my theory again?”
“You wondered if Cal had taken the caches,” Henry reminded Benny. “You said maybe he didn’t mean to take them for long, but he got called away before he could put them back.”
“The only thing wrong with your theory was it didn’t explain why he took them in the first place,” Jessie said. “But if Cal took them because they needed some repair work, then that would explain everything.”
“Is there any way to test this theory?” Violet asked.
“We could go online and see if there are any comments about damaged caches,” Henry suggested.
“Good idea, Henry,” Jessie said. Henry turned his chair back around so he was facing the computer. The others gathered around as he logged into geocaching.com.
Henry pulled up the web page for the first missing cache, then scrolled down to the list of comments.
“Yup. That one says the container is coming apart,” Violet said, pointing to the second comment from the top.
Henry went to the next cache on their list and read the third comment out loud. “ ‘Great hide! No trade items in container. No log book, either.’ ”
“Isn’t it possible Cal would’ve taken that one, too, just to fill it with things to trade again?” Violet asked.
“It’s possible,” Jessie agreed.
The Aldens checked the listings for the other missing caches. All had reports of damage or missing trade items.
“So maybe my theory is right!” Benny said.
“Maybe,” Henry said. “We won’t know for sure until Cal comes back.”
“But what if the geocaching club shuts down before that?” Violet said.
“We’ll just have to convince them to stay together,” Jessie said.
Chapter 10
The Truth Comes Out
The Greenfield Geocachers Club met again that Friday. Once again, the nature center was closed and the club members were gathered out front when the Aldens arrived.
The Robertsons were back from visiting Andy’s grandmother, but the Aldens didn’t have a chance to chat with them. Everyone was talking about shutting down the geocaching club.
“How can we shut down without Cal?” one of the college students asked.
“Well, we don’t know where he is or when he’ll be back,” another college student responded.
“We can’t go on like this,” the man in the blue jacket said. “Several of us were out geocaching yesterday and we discovered several caches that were there last weekend are missing now.”
“Yes. Instead of finding caches, we found notes that said, ‘ha ha!’ ” the lady next to him said with a frown.
“I don’t think we have any choice but to shut down,” said the man beside her.
“Wait!” Benny interrupted. “Don’t do that!”
“Cal’s not missing,” Violet said.
“And we’re the ones who left the notes that said ‘ha-ha!’ ” Zoe spoke up.
The Aldens told everyone what they knew about Cal, and the Zeller twins explained why they took some of the caches and replaced them with notes that said “ha-ha.”
“Okay, but what about the other missing caches?” Mr. Robertson asked. “The ones the Zellers didn’t take?”
“We have a theory about that,” Benny said. Benny liked the word
“Wait a minute,” Jessie said, sitting up a little straighter. “That’s it! Cal was fixing something right before he left. Remember?”
The others looked confused.
“What does that have to do with anything, Jessie?” Violet asked. “We don’t even know what Cal was fixing.”
“Well, what if he was fixing some damaged cache boxes?” Jessie asked, her eyes dancing with excitement.
“Then maybe Benny’s theory was correct,” Henry said.
Benny was still confused. “What theory?” he asked. “And what is a theory, anyway?”
“A theory is an idea you have to explain something,” Violet said. “But you don’t know for sure you’re right.”
“Oh.” Benny nodded. Then he wrinkled his nose. “What was my theory again?”
“You wondered if Cal had taken the caches,” Henry reminded Benny. “You said maybe he didn’t mean to take them for long, but he got called away before he could put them back.”
“The only thing wrong with your theory was it didn’t explain why he took them in the first place,” Jessie said. “But if Cal took them because they needed some repair work, then that would explain everything.”
“Is there any way to test this theory?” Violet asked.
“We could go online and see if there are any comments about damaged caches,” Henry suggested.
“Good idea, Henry,” Jessie said. Henry turned his chair back around so he was facing the computer. The others gathered around as he logged into geocaching.com.
Henry pulled up the web page for the first missing cache, then scrolled down to the list of comments.
“Yup. That one says the container is coming apart,” Violet said, pointing to the second comment from the top.
Henry went to the next cache on their list and read the third comment out loud. “ ‘Great hide! No trade items in container. No log book, either.’ ”
“Isn’t it possible Cal would’ve taken that one, too, just to fill it with things to trade again?” Violet asked.
“It’s possible,” Jessie agreed.
The Aldens checked the listings for the other missing caches. All had reports of damage or missing trade items.
“So maybe my theory is right!” Benny said.
“Maybe,” Henry said. “We won’t know for sure until Cal comes back.”
“But what if the geocaching club shuts down before that?” Violet said.
“We’ll just have to convince them to stay together,” Jessie said.
Chapter 10
The Truth Comes Out
The Greenfield Geocachers Club met again that Friday. Once again, the nature center was closed and the club members were gathered out front when the Aldens arrived.
The Robertsons were back from visiting Andy’s grandmother, but the Aldens didn’t have a chance to chat with them. Everyone was talking about shutting down the geocaching club.
“How can we shut down without Cal?” one of the college students asked.
“Well, we don’t know where he is or when he’ll be back,” another college student responded.
“We can’t go on like this,” the man in the blue jacket said. “Several of us were out geocaching yesterday and we discovered several caches that were there last weekend are missing now.”
“Yes. Instead of finding caches, we found notes that said, ‘ha ha!’ ” the lady next to him said with a frown.
“I don’t think we have any choice but to shut down,” said the man beside her.
“Wait!” Benny interrupted. “Don’t do that!”
“Cal’s not missing,” Violet said.
“And we’re the ones who left the notes that said ‘ha-ha!’ ” Zoe spoke up.
The Aldens told everyone what they knew about Cal, and the Zeller twins explained why they took some of the caches and replaced them with notes that said “ha-ha.”
“Okay, but what about the other missing caches?” Mr. Robertson asked. “The ones the Zellers didn’t take?”
“We have a theory about that,” Benny said. Benny liked the word
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