Clue in the Corn Maze by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page B

sometime before the festival,” Henry said.
    Violet gasped. “That sounds dangerous!”
    “We’d better show this note and tire to Ken and Grandfather,” Jessie said. She and Henry picked up the tire and trooped up to the house.
    They found Ken and Grandfather making dinner in the kitchen. Grandfather was peeling potatoes. Ken was snapping beans at the kitchen table. A beef roast rotated slowly in the rotisserie on the counter.
    Ken looked up curiously as Mr. Sweeney and the children walked in. When he saw the worried faces, he asked, “Is something the matter?”
    “We may have some more trouble,” Mr. Sweeney said, pointing to the tire.
    Ken looked at the tire. “I don’t understand,” he said.
    Henry showed him the note.
    “Th-this sounds like a threat!” Ken said angrily. He looked at the children. “Where did you get this?”
    “We found it in the maze,” Violet said. “It was down one of the dead-end paths.”
    “Do you suppose the person who was hacking down the corn put it there last night?” Jessie asked.
    “It wasn’t there this morning,” Mr. Sweeney said. “I walked through the whole maze looking for damage. If this note and wheel were there then, I would’ve seen them.”
    “So somebody must have put them in there today while you were shopping for chicken wire and we were out walking or visiting Kurt. That’s the only time the maze was unguarded,” Jessie said.
    “I’m guessing it’s the same person who tried to destroy the maze last night. Now we’re being warned there’s going to be trouble if the festival goes on as planned,” Henry said.
    “Did you see anyone around, Ken?” Violet asked.
    “No,” Ken replied. “James and I were playing chess all afternoon.”
    “David stopped by for a few minutes,” Grandfather said. “I wonder if he saw anything?”
    The children exchanged looks. If David had stopped by, they wondered, could he have left the wheel and the note?
    “I’m worried,” Ken said, shaking his head. “What if this person makes good on his threat? What if he loosens one of the wheels on the trailer and the trailer tips over? People could get hurt.”
    He slumped back against his chair in defeat. “I think I’m going to have to cancel the festival,” he said sadly.
    “No!” the Aldens said together.
    “I’m sorry, kids,” Ken said. “But I don’t see any other choice. I can’t take a chance on someone getting hurt.”
    “Should I call the radio station so they can make an announcement about the festival being canceled?” Mr. Sweeney asked. “We don’t want people driving out here for nothing.”
    “It’s a little late to do that today,” Ken said. “The office is probably only open until five o’clock. But if you’d take care of that for me tomorrow, I’d appreciate it.”
    Mr. Sweeney nodded.
    “So that gives us less than twenty-four hours to solve this case,” Henry said glumly.
    “If we figure out who’s doing this, you won’t have to cancel the festival, will you, Ken?” Violet asked.
    “No,” Ken said. “But do you really think you can catch someone so quickly?”
    “We’ll sure try,” Henry said.
    “We know one thing for sure,” Jessie said after supper. The sun was going down, but the children sat on bales of hay behind the barn reviewing all the clues they had.
    “What?” Benny asked, swinging his feet.
    Jessie pulled her legs up onto the bale she was sitting on. “We know that it couldn’t have been Kurt who put the tire in the maze,” she said. “We were with him this afternoon.”
    “Not the whole time,” Henry pointed out. “We walked down to Peggy’s first.”
    “But we woke Kurt up when we got to his house,” Jessie said. “I don’t think he would’ve had time to drive up here, hide a tire in the maze, then drive back home and fall asleep.”
    “You’re probably right, Jessie,” Violet said.
    “Mr. Sweeney could have done it,” Henry said. “He was here by himself for a little while before