Great Bicycle Race Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page B

around in the dark last night. And you changed the detour sign today. And I bet you put glue in the lock on the food wagon, too.”
    “And what about switching the helmets?” said Benny.
    “You can’t prove any of it,” Nan muttered.
    “I can prove that you sabotaged me,” Henry said. “You told me the exact opposite of what I should do to fix my flat tire. That’s the reason I kept getting flats—because I wasn’t putting enough air in my tires.”
    “So?” Nan’s eyes shifted.
    “So you’d do anything to eliminate as many riders as possible from this ride,” Violet said. “To win that raffle.”
    “You won’t win it now,” Anna said. She motioned and the Aldens saw flashlights in the dark and realized that other crew members were headed for the corral. “I doubt you’ll be allowed to finish the ride.”
    Nan drew herself up to her fall height. “Fine. I did all that. It was you who gave me the idea, when I heard you talking to Al about your bike getting sabotaged. Why not sabotage a few more riders? The fewer who finished, the better chance I had at that bike. And I need a new bike. A really good new bike. With a really good bike I could win races and lots of prize money. ...” She let her voice trail off as several crew members approached. One of them had a shirt on that said, SECURITY CREW CHIEF.
    The security chief folded her arms as the Aldens and Anna told her what had happened. When they’d finished, she turned to Nan.
    “I think we’d better take a look at your bike kit, Nan,” she said.
    Reluctantly, Nan took them to her bike and the security crew chief looked in the small pouch of emergency tools most cyclists keep just behind their seat.
    “Just as I expected,” she said as she drew from the small leather pouch a tube of glue.
    “That’s not bike patch glue. That’s what she used to glue the lock on the food wagon,” said Benny.
    “And how do you explain these?” continued the security chief, looking at Nan sternly. In her hand she held four packets of raffle tickets. It looked as though they had all been filled out with Nan’s name. “I’d be willing to bet we’ll discover some missing raffle tickets.”
    “Wow,” said Jessie. “There are twenty-five tickets in each pack. That’s a hundred tickets. If those were somehow all put into the raffle at the end of the race ...”
    “And if dozens of riders had gotten lost—and disqualified—by following the wrong signs ...” said Henry.
    “And if more riders got discouraged and quit the race because of late food, collapsing tents, and no water ...” continued Violet.
    “Nan would have a pretty good chance of winning the new bike at the raffle. Right?” finished Benny.
    “Right,” said Jessie quietly.
    The chief of security turned to Nan. “What do you have to say for yourself?” she asked.
    With a toss of her head, Nan said, “Nothing. I’m going to be a famous bike rider someday, and to get famous you have to be tough.”
    “But not mean and stupid,” the security chief said. “And what you did was mean-spirited and stupid. Let’s go. We’re going to pack up your stuff and escort you out of here in the sweep van. You’re out of the ride.”
    Anna spoke up. “The rest of us will fix these spokes.”
    “Good,” said the chief. She turned to the Aldens and nodded. “And good work,” she told them.
    “Thank you,” said Benny modestly. “We solve mysteries all the time. If you ever need us to solve another one, we live in Greenfield. We—”
    “Benny, let’s go get some sleep,” Violet said, patting her little brother’s shoulder.
    “Okay,” said Benny. He looked at the others solemnly and added, “It’s important for a bike rider to get lots of sleep. Especially if he’s going to solve mysteries, too.”
    “Eagle Mountain is saved!” Jessie announced as she led the way into Greenfield Wheels two days later.
    “There was a huge crowd at the end of the race,” Violet said. “And the