been going onââ
âLoud music and lights and missing food,â Benny put in.
âWe thought you might have seen or heard something that would help us figure it out,â Jessie said.
Hildy glared at them. âImagination pure and simple,â she said. âAs if it isnât bad enough that my lantern is brokenââ
âAt least you have a lantern,â Benny interrupted. âSomeone took ours.â
Hildy grabbed the lantern off the table. âStop pestering me with your silliness,â she snapped. She marched to her cabin door. âGo back to the city where you belong! I donât want you here!â She slammed the door behind her.
âYou see?â Benny said. âShe doesnât want us here.â
âMr. Watts said we should go home, too,â Jessie reminded him.
âThatâs different,â Benny argued. âHe was thinking about Grandfather.â
âWe should be, too,â Violet said. âWeâve been away a long time. He might need us.â
Grandfather was reading when they returned to camp. âSomething happened while you were away,â he said.
The children looked at each other. What now? they wondered. They looked all around, but they didnât see anything different.
Grandfather laughed and pointed to the maple tree.
Violet caught her breath. âIt bloomed!â she exclaimed.
Earlier, the tree was full of buds. Now, it was full of small tight clusters of green flowers. Other trees seemed to be blooming, too.
âSpring has sprung!â Benny commented.
The night was beautiful, too. The sky was clear and the stars were bright.
After supper, Violet got out her violin. She played several pieces. The one everyone liked best was âTwinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.â
Finally, everyone went to bed. They were so tired that they fell asleep quickly. No one heard the loud music that sounded through the still night or saw the lights that cut through the surrounding darkness.
CHAPTER 13
More Trouble
âY oohoo!â someone called.
âIs it morning already?â Benny asked.
Henry crawled out of his sleeping bag and looked out the tent window. âItâs Doris,â he told the others.
The children piled out of the tent.
âWell, good morning,â Doris said. She set a box down on the picnic table.
âGood morning,â the children greeted her.
Grandfather came out of the tent leaning on Andy Wattsâs walking stick.
âJames Henry Alden,â Doris said. âJust what do you think youâre doing? You should be resting.â
Settled on a picnic bench, Mr. Alden laughed. âComing to visit an old friend,â he answered. âThatâs what Iâm doing. And what are you doing? Hiking all this way when you have a store to run?â
Doris sat across from him. âAndy stopped in late yesterday. He told me about your fall. I thought you might need a few things.â She turned to Henry. âThereâs a bag of ice in there. Youâd better put it in the cooler before it melts.â
Henry nodded and took out the ice.
Jessie glanced into the box. âYou brought pancake mix!â she exclaimed.
âI figured youâd probably used yours up by now,â Doris said.
âSomebody took our box,â Benny said. âWe havenât had a single pancake.â
âSomeone took your pancake mix?â she said, but she didnât sound too surprised.
âThatâs not all!â Benny told her what had been happening.
âHmmm,â was all she said.
âWe asked your sister about it,â Jessie said, âbut she just told us to go home.â
Doris nodded and glanced away. âYes, thatâs what I was afraid of,â she said more to herself than to the children. When she saw them all looking at her, she said, âWhat I mean is, other campers have complained about these very same
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