Great Bicycle Race Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

And winked.
    The figure of Anna in the darkness had been drooping in the chair by the corral entrance. Now her head tipped back and she started to snore. Loudly.
    The snoring went on, then stopped. Anna shifted, mumbled, and pulled her hat down over her eyes to block out the light by the gate where she was keeping watch. The field of bicycles inside the enclosure was dimly lit by the lights that had been placed around the fence.
    Then she began to snore again.
    Time passed. Anna appeared to be in a deep sleep.
    From their hiding place behind a nearby rock, the Aldens watched. Behind them, bicycle riders and volunteers slept in the rows of tents. It was quiet and dark except for the beam of an occasional light as a rider made a cautious late-night trip to the bathroom or to get some water.
    Violet clutched Henry’s arm and whispered, “I saw something move. Over there!”
    Benny almost jumped up to peer over the rock, but Jessie caught him in time. “Not yet, Benny,” she hissed.
    They kept waiting. Sure enough, Violet had been right. They saw a tall, slender figure emerge from the shadows. It edged toward Anna’s sleeping form.
    Looking left and right, the shadowy figure hesitated for a moment outside the bike corral. Then it eased the gate open just a fraction and slipped inside.
    “Come on,” said Henry.
    Crouching low, the five Aldens hurried to where Anna still appeared to be sleeping.
    “Shout when you’re ready,” Anna said softly. “I’ll throw the switch and turn all the corral lights on.” She spoke without moving from her position of seemingly deep sleep.

    “Right,” Jessie said.
    One by one, the Aldens slipped inside the gate.
    Jessie said, “Benny, why don’t we take this side of the corral.”
    “We’ll take the other,” said Henry. He, Soo Lee, and Violet disappeared into the shadows at the edge of a bike row.
    Keeping down and moving cautiously, Benny and Jessie did the same. At the end of each row, they stopped and peered cautiously down it.
    Suddenly Benny said, “I see someone.”
    “Let’s go,” said Jessie. “On this side of the row, so we can’t be seen coming.”
    She and Benny raced down the row, trying to move as quietly as possible. They slowed as they heard a sound—a click, and then a pop. After each click and pop, the figure moved to the next bicycle.
    “The spokes. They’re being cut on each bicycle,” Jessie breathed.
    Benny didn’t wait. He jumped to his feet, turned his flashlight on, and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Stop that!”
    The lights of the bicycle corral turned on full force. Anna Wong popped out of her chair and began running down the middle aisle of the rows of bicycles. Henry, Violet, and Soo Lee began running from the other side of the corral.
    And Nan gave a little shriek, dropped her wire cutters, and tried to run.

CHAPTER 10
Journey’s End
    “Oh, no you don’t,” said Henry. He caught Nan’s shirt.
    She yanked and twisted, but it was too late. Benny grabbed one leg and the others surrounded her.
    Gasping and red-faced, she stopped. “I didn’t do anything,” she said. “I was just checking on my bike.”
    “With these?” Jessie asked, holding up the wire cutters.
    Anna had been inspecting the damage. “About ten bicycles have at least one cut spoke,” she reported. “Our repair people can fix that.”

    “How many spokes were you going to cut?” Violet asked.
    Nan’s friendly smile was gone. She pressed her lips together and said, “It didn’t damage the bicycles permanently. Spokes can be fixed.”
    “You’re the one who leaked the water at the first water stop,” Jessie said.
    “No, I didn’t leak the water. I would never do anything to harm a rider’s health!”
    “But you did change the signs so the riders would get lost,” Soo Lee said. “You were ahead of us. You could have done it easily.”
    “And you rigged the row of tents so it would fall,” Henry said. He pointed. “You got that bruise sneaking