off to the balance beam area.
Violet helped Benny up. “Honestly, that man is so rude. Are you okay?”
“Did you see the pictures?” Benny asked, his fall forgotten.
“I sure did,” Jessie answered excitedly. “The one of the house—I know where I’ve seen it before!”
“Where?” asked Henry. In the flurry of dealing with Al Stockton, he hadn’t gotten a good look at the two photographs.
“It’s the same house in the newspaper clipping that was in Katya’s letter from Russia!” Jessie declared.
“Why would Al Stockton have a picture of a Russian house in his bag? The same house that was in a newspaper clipping in Katya’s letter?” Henry inquired.
“Did you see the second picture?” Benny insisted.
Jessie nodded. “In it was a painting of a girl.”
“And the girl looked a lot like Katya!” Benny said.
Henry whistled. “Now things are really getting complicated. I bet the room in the second picture is in the mansion. And if the girl in the portrait is Katya, she obviously lives in the mansion.”
“So Katya is really a rich girl pretending to be a gymnast?” Violet asked.
Jessie shook her head. “I don’t think she’s pretending to be a gymnast. She’s too good. But if she’s rich, she wouldn’t need to live with an American family for this competition. Why is she staying with us?”
Benny thought he knew the answer. “To hide who she really is.”
Now they all looked over at the balance beam. Katya’s team wasn’t performing yet, but they would soon.
“We’ll have to wait until after the competition to find out Katya’s identity,” Henry said.
Violet stared at the black-haired man, who was watching Katya intently. “And so will Al Stockton.”
CHAPTER 9
The Competition
Katya was poised on the mat at one end of the balance beam. She looked toward the judges. The head judge signaled that they were ready. Then Katya took a deep breath and raised her arm in return.
With a swift move she straddled the end of the beam. Her hands on either side of the narrow wood, she eased into a handstand, then came down into a V-sit.
Violet Alden held her breath. She knew that Katya’s routine was one minute and twenty-five seconds. If it was too long or too short, the judges would take points from her score.
“Now she’s changing directions,” Jessie said, watching Katya pivot smoothly on one foot.
That was another requirement. Katya’s eyes were straight ahead as she waved her arms gracefully and pointed her toes. Next she performed a stride leap, springing up and down into a split. A headstand turned her in the opposite direction. Then, in a flurry of cartwheels, Katya was across the beam. She dismounted with a round-off.
Standing on the mat a second to gain her balance, she raised her arms and arched her back. She had stuck the landing!
“She did it!” Benny cried, applauding along with the audience.
The Aldens eagerly awaited the five judges’ scores. Katya received 9.7 from four judges and a 9.8 from one.
“Very good scores,” Henry commented. “If Al Stockton is bothering Katya by being here, it’s not affecting her routines.”
The rest of Katya’s team performed, and then it was the American team’s turn. Denise was in the lead position, getting the same marks as Katya.
Jessie watched Mrs. Patterson write down the scores on her score sheet. She did not look happy. Jessie figured the woman wanted her daughter to score higher than Katya. As far as Jessie could tell, Katya and Denise were evenly matched.
The announcer called for an intermission. The Alden children used the opportunity to find Grandfather and Mrs. McGregor.
“There you are!” said the housekeeper. “We wondered where you’ve been.”
“We didn’t mean for you to worry,” Violet apologized. “But we need to keep an eye on Katya. She—” Without revealing the question of Katya’s mysterious identity, Violet continued, “She’s nervous and likes to have us nearby.”
Grandfather
Violet helped Benny up. “Honestly, that man is so rude. Are you okay?”
“Did you see the pictures?” Benny asked, his fall forgotten.
“I sure did,” Jessie answered excitedly. “The one of the house—I know where I’ve seen it before!”
“Where?” asked Henry. In the flurry of dealing with Al Stockton, he hadn’t gotten a good look at the two photographs.
“It’s the same house in the newspaper clipping that was in Katya’s letter from Russia!” Jessie declared.
“Why would Al Stockton have a picture of a Russian house in his bag? The same house that was in a newspaper clipping in Katya’s letter?” Henry inquired.
“Did you see the second picture?” Benny insisted.
Jessie nodded. “In it was a painting of a girl.”
“And the girl looked a lot like Katya!” Benny said.
Henry whistled. “Now things are really getting complicated. I bet the room in the second picture is in the mansion. And if the girl in the portrait is Katya, she obviously lives in the mansion.”
“So Katya is really a rich girl pretending to be a gymnast?” Violet asked.
Jessie shook her head. “I don’t think she’s pretending to be a gymnast. She’s too good. But if she’s rich, she wouldn’t need to live with an American family for this competition. Why is she staying with us?”
Benny thought he knew the answer. “To hide who she really is.”
Now they all looked over at the balance beam. Katya’s team wasn’t performing yet, but they would soon.
“We’ll have to wait until after the competition to find out Katya’s identity,” Henry said.
Violet stared at the black-haired man, who was watching Katya intently. “And so will Al Stockton.”
CHAPTER 9
The Competition
Katya was poised on the mat at one end of the balance beam. She looked toward the judges. The head judge signaled that they were ready. Then Katya took a deep breath and raised her arm in return.
With a swift move she straddled the end of the beam. Her hands on either side of the narrow wood, she eased into a handstand, then came down into a V-sit.
Violet Alden held her breath. She knew that Katya’s routine was one minute and twenty-five seconds. If it was too long or too short, the judges would take points from her score.
“Now she’s changing directions,” Jessie said, watching Katya pivot smoothly on one foot.
That was another requirement. Katya’s eyes were straight ahead as she waved her arms gracefully and pointed her toes. Next she performed a stride leap, springing up and down into a split. A headstand turned her in the opposite direction. Then, in a flurry of cartwheels, Katya was across the beam. She dismounted with a round-off.
Standing on the mat a second to gain her balance, she raised her arms and arched her back. She had stuck the landing!
“She did it!” Benny cried, applauding along with the audience.
The Aldens eagerly awaited the five judges’ scores. Katya received 9.7 from four judges and a 9.8 from one.
“Very good scores,” Henry commented. “If Al Stockton is bothering Katya by being here, it’s not affecting her routines.”
The rest of Katya’s team performed, and then it was the American team’s turn. Denise was in the lead position, getting the same marks as Katya.
Jessie watched Mrs. Patterson write down the scores on her score sheet. She did not look happy. Jessie figured the woman wanted her daughter to score higher than Katya. As far as Jessie could tell, Katya and Denise were evenly matched.
The announcer called for an intermission. The Alden children used the opportunity to find Grandfather and Mrs. McGregor.
“There you are!” said the housekeeper. “We wondered where you’ve been.”
“We didn’t mean for you to worry,” Violet apologized. “But we need to keep an eye on Katya. She—” Without revealing the question of Katya’s mysterious identity, Violet continued, “She’s nervous and likes to have us nearby.”
Grandfather
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