“Just behind my own cabin,” Tyler said with a shrug. He looked slyly at Nancy. She was sure he’d guessed what she was getting at with her questioning. “I was looking for some black sand,” Tyler went on. “And before that I was in town buying this book. I suppose that’s why I didn’t hear the blast myself.” He held up a book with a bright gold cover, titled Prospecting History and Methods.
“I thought you weren’t interested in gold,” Nancy said.
“I’m not, but Senator Callihan is. I mentioned the story about that lost gold mine, and he said he wanted more information for his report. If there is gold on the property, that could complicate our making it a park. Some people think gold should be mined, and that wouldn’t be allowed on park land.” Tyler closed his book and handed it to Nancy. “I’ve read enough. Maybe you’d like to take a look at it yourself. You seem to be interested in things like that.”
“As a matter of fact, I would like to read it,” Nancy said. “It should make our ride to Prospector’s Canyon tomorrow more interesting.”
She took the book and followed Bess inside for a lunch of chicken salad sandwiches and fresh peaches with milk.
“I thought Bess would appreciate some ‘tame’ food today,” Elsa teased.
Bess’s face turned red as she remembered the venison episode the night before.
Everyone was still eating when the sheriff’s deputy arrived. Nancy gave him the remains of the blasting cap and told him what she knew about the near-disaster with the jeep. Charlie left his lunch to take the deputy to see the ruined dam. Nancy decided not to go along. She was pretty sure the deputy wouldn’t find any more clues, and she knew she could get a report from Charlie later.
“I have to help Elsa for a while,” Rachel said when they had finished their sandwiches. “I guess you guys are on your own for the rest of the afternoon.”
“That’s okay,” Nancy said. “I’m going to read this book about prospecting.”
“There are some hammocks in the trees by Miner’s Creek,” Rachel said. “It’s a perfect spot for reading.”
“Sounds great,” Bess agreed.
Soon Nancy, Bess, and George were swaying comfortably in large hammocks tied to huge evergreen trees. Miner’s Creek babbled gently in the background.
“Nancy, do you have any idea who is trying to stop the sale of the retreat?” Bess asked.
Nancy sighed. “Not really. For the time being, we don’t have much to go on.”
Bess gazed through the tree branches toward the blue sky. “I think Maddie and Pete are definitely suspects,” Bess said. “They both seem to be around when things go wrong. Maddie even showed up at the fire, remember?”
“Yes, but Pete had been in the meadow that morning, too,” Nancy said.
“And Pete was taking care of the jeep when the explosives were set,” George pointed out.
“Undoing the rope from the jeep’s steering wheel and parking it back next to the barn could have been done quickly,” Nancy said. “I think Pete could have done that and set the explosive, too. A long fuse would have given him time to circle around behind the lodge before it went off, then come down the trail as though he were coming from the barn.”
George nodded. “I guess you’re right.”
“And then there’s Tyler,” Nancy said. “I don’t know if I believe his story about being in the creek looking for black sand.”
“And he could be the one who’s been losing the land sale documents in the senator’s office,” Bess added.
“But if Maddie is telling the truth, there’s another suspect,” Nancy said. “Someone driving the vehicle she saw by the retreat’s driveway.”
“That’s true. And we did see tire tracks near the fire,” George said. “So where does that leave us?”
“Tired,” Bess said.
Nancy and George laughed, and then all three fell silent. George and Bess were soon lulled into sleep by the gentle rustle of the breeze in the pine trees. Nancy concentrated on her book. It was filled with fascinating stories of lost mines and the tricks old prospectors used to protect their secrets.
Suddenly she jumped from her hammock, startling her sleepy friends. Bess nearly fell out of her hammock.
“What is it?” George asked anxiously.
“I’m not sure,” Nancy answered. “But I have an idea.”
Nancy dashed to their cabin, followed by George and Bess. She threw open her suitcase and pulled out the scrap of paper she had found near the fire, examining it carefully.
“Yes!” she shouted, waving the paper in the air triumphantly. “This is going to help us solve the mystery!”
8
Piecing Things Together
“What do you mean?” George asked.
“I know what this slip of paper is,” Nancy said. “It’s a report from an assay laboratory, where rocks are analyzed for different minerals. I bet this is an analysis for gold on a rock from the retreat. Look.” Nancy showed the girls a page that had an example of an assay report.
Then Nancy set the small scrap of paper she’d found near the fire down on top of a larger piece of scratch paper. She began to fill in the missing letters. As she completed the words, it began to look more and more like the example in the book.
“The first line is the date, and the third line is the address of the laboratory,” Nancy said. “We still don’t know the address, but I think I can figure out the rest.”
As she scribbled, “say Labo” became “Assay Laboratory,” “eport” became “Report,” and “mple #653” became “Sample #653.”
“What’s ‘and Re’?” George asked.
“Maybe it’s ‘and regarding,’ ” Bess said.
“I don’t think so,” Nancy said. “Watch.”
She continued to work her pencil. “and Re” quickly became “Highland Retreat.”
“Of course,” George said. “So it does have some connection to the retreat.”
“And because I found it near the fire, I’m betting that the same person who is looking for gold also set the fire,” Nancy said, setting down her pencil.
“Then someone really believes there’s gold here?” Bess said.
Nancy nodded. “I think someone believes that the legend of Miner’s Creek is more than just a tall tale.”
“But why set the fires?” George still looked confused.
“Remember what Tyler said about the retreat becoming a park?” Nancy said.
“No prospecting or mining would be allowed,” Bess finished.
“So there would be park rangers around to make sure no one broke the rules,” George added. “If someone is after the gold, they need to stop the land sale.”
“Did I hear someone say gold?” a teasing voice came from behind the girls. They turned to see their pilot, B.D. Eastham, standing at the screen door of their cabin.
“Sorry to interrupt,” B.D. said cheerfully. “I just stopped by to say hi.”
Nancy quickly stuffed the scrap of paper into her pocket and stepped outside to greet B.D.
“We’ve decided to become prospectors,” she said, holding up the book she had been reading.
“Rachel’s taking us to Prospector’s Canyon tomorrow,” George put in. “We’re all planning to strike it rich.”
“You know a lot of history about this area,” Nancy said to B.D. “What do you think of the legend of Miner’s Creek? Do you believe it?”
B.D. folded his arms. “You bet,” he said with a wink. “Just like I believe in the tooth fairy.”
“Then you think it’s all a hoax?” Bess said.
“Let’s just say I don’t think you should waste your vacation looking for gold,” B.D. said. “There are plenty of other things to do around here.”
“What brings you here today?” Nancy asked, casually changing the subject.
“Oh, I brought up some supplies and mail for Charlie,” he said.
“I think he’s still with the sheriff,” Nancy told him.
B.D. raised
his brows. “The sheriff? Has something happened?” he asked.
“Just a fire, an explosion, and a runaway jeep,” George said.
“Was anyone hurt?” B.D. asked.
“Not so far,” Nancy said.
“It seems like a lot of things have gone wrong since Charlie started talking about selling this place for a park,” B.D. said. “Maybe he should just give it up.”
“Give up what?” Charlie came up beside B.D., sounding happy to see his good friend. The sheriff’s deputy was with him.
“I was just looking for you,” B.D. said. “I’ve got some mail. By the way, I hear you’ve had more trouble.”
“I’m afraid so,” Charlie said. “The deputy here wanted to ask Nancy a question or two before he left. He’s been looking into things.”
“Any clues as to who set the explosives and sabotaged the jeep?” Bess asked the deputy.
The deputy shook his head. “Unfortunately, I haven’t found much to go on. Charlie said he kept a key in the jeep’s ashtray, so most anyone could have started the vehicle,” he said. “Nancy, when you got to the jeep, did you see anything or take anything out of the jeep?”
“No, I didn’t take anything,” Nancy said. “Did you talk to Pete?”
“Yes,” the deputy said. “He showed me the board and rope. There was nothing else to go on, and I didn’t find any usable fingerprints.” He turned to Charlie. “I don’t know what more I can do than file a report. Call me if anything else happens.”
The deputy walked to his patrol car, and Charlie and B.D. strolled toward the lodge.
The girls were soon back in their hammocks. Nancy began poring over the pages of her book again.
“It shows a picture here of a gold nugget the size of a walnut,” Nancy reported to Bess and George. “It only weighs three ounces, but it could be worth more than a thousand dollars, even more to collectors because it’s an unusual shape.”
“And that’s for one nugget,” Bess said. “Think what a whole gold mine could be worth.”
“Millions,” Nancy said. “And there’s a story here from an old newspaper about a ton of gold that was mined from one ore pocket.”
Just then Rachel walked down from the lodge. “So what happened while I was away?” she asked, leaning against one of the trees. “Are you guys having a nice rest?”
George quickly told Rachel what Nancy had discovered about the piece of paper she’d found in the meadow.
“I think someone who believes the story of Jeremiah Benner’s mine is hunting for gold here and trying to sabotage the land sale,” Nancy said. “Someone doesn’t want the gold protected in a park.” She sat up on the edge of her hammock. “Rachel, are there any papers or letters from Jeremiah and Cyrus’s prospecting days that aren’t up on the wall?” Nancy asked. “Anything besides what we’ve already seen?”
“Well, there are some things left in a box in Granddad’s desk,” Rachel said, twisting the end of her ponytail thoughtfully. “He just put the best stuff up for guests to see.”
“Maybe we could find another clue if we looked at the box,” Nancy said.
The girls followed Rachel back to the lodge. She pulled a cardboard box from a drawer of the large rolltop desk, and the four of them settled down on the hearth of the giant fireplace to sort through old deeds, marriage licenses, and letters. One slightly blurry picture showed Jeremiah and Cyrus together.
“Granddad said that was taken when they first became partners,” Rachel said. “Too bad it’s not a better picture.”
Nancy could just make out the twin white rocks each man held. She guessed they were the two pieces of quartz ore that Jeremiah had brought out of the mountain on the day he’d found the mine.
“Do you see anything that will help?” Rachel asked, after nearly an hour of searching.
“I’m afraid not,” Nancy said, shaking her head. “It seems like we have lots of information, but not many solid clues.”
“I hope you won’t give up,” Rachel said.
“Don’t worry about that,” said Bess with a grin. “Nancy never gives up on a mystery.”
The girls carefully placed the papers and photographs back in the box while Rachel went to help Elsa fix dinner. Soon they were all seated around the long table, listening to B.D.’s lively stories about wild plane rides and old fur traders. He was a natural storyteller, and he made dramatic gestures with his hands as he talked. A good actor, Nancy thought.
“It’s nice you could stay for dinner,” Charlie said to B.D. “With all the problems we’ve been having lately, good friends make especially good company.”
The Kauffmans seemed to be enjoying B.D.’s stories as well, especially little Aaron. He was busily making airplane noises over his plate.
The honeymooning Smythes, Nancy noticed, seemed to be more interested in each other than in B.D.’s wild stories.
“Are you coming with us to Prospector’s Canyon?” Aaron asked B.D. “We’re going to find a lost gold mine.”
“What time?” B.D. asked.
“Ten o’clock sharp,” Rachel said. “I’m playing guide.”
“I’m afraid I have to work,” B.D. said. “But my guess is you’ll be disappointed about the gold, anyway. The only gold up there is fool’s gold.”
Nancy thought it was rude of B.D. to ruin Aaron’s hopes so needlessly, especially since B.D. himself was such a good storyteller. But she said nothing, and Aaron seemed not to notice as he continued to make airplane sounds.
After dinner B.D. excused himself, ruffled Aaron’s hair playfully, and started for the door.
“I’m going to go get a sweater from the cabin,” Nancy said.
“I’ll come with you,” George said. They accompanied B.D. to the door.
“That was quite a plane ride you gave us the other day,” Nancy said casually. “Was it as rough when you flew Tyler in later that evening?”
B.D. hesitated, as though trying to remember.
“Tyler came the night before,” B.D. said finally. “His flight was smooth as silk.”
“But he didn’t arrive here at the retreat until the next night,” Nancy said, frowning.
“He stayed in town a day, I believe,” B.D. said. “I offered to drive him to the retreat, but he said he was staying over and would rent a car.”
Nancy’s eyes widened as B.D. said good night and walked to his pickup truck.
“Tyler lied,” Nancy said to George as B.D. started his pickup. “He was in town the morning of the fire.”
9
Ride into Danger
George followed Nancy back into the lodge, where the other guests were still talking around the big table.
“You know, I think I’ll skip the sweater and just go back to the cabin to get some rest,” Nancy told everyone. “After all that’s happened today, I’m beat.”
Rachel was telling the group about a pair of red-tailed hawks nesting on the other side of the meadow. Bess looked up from a cup of steaming tea. Nancy had a feeling her friend wasn’t ready to budge from her comfortable chair.
“I guess we’ll all need our rest for the ride up Miner’s Creek tomorrow,” she said, hoping Bess would realize that she wanted to talk.
“Nancy’s right,” George said quickly. “I think I’ll turn in, too. Coming, Bess?”
Bess took one last longing look at her sweet-smelling tea and agreed that it was time for bed.
The three filed out of the lodge and headed back to their cabin.
“Okay, what’s up?” Bess asked when the door was finally closed.
“Tyler lied,” Nancy said. “B.D. said Tyler flew into town the day before we did. That means Tyler was here when the fire started.”
“And he was the one with the book on gold prospecting,” George said, flopping down on her bunk. “Do you think he’s trying to find the gold for himself?”
“He’s certainly moving up on our list of suspects,” Nancy said.
“But is there really any gold?” Bess asked, throw
ing up her hands. “Tyler isn’t the only one who says the story about Jeremiah’s mine is a hoax. Charlie and B.D. think the same thing.”
“But Tyler could be lying to cover up his real interest,” Nancy said.
“Well, if there is a gold mine, why wouldn’t it have been found after all these years?” George asked.
“It could be underground,” Nancy said slowly. “According to that book Tyler loaned me, the quartz and gold were left here by ancient volcanoes.” She picked up the book and flipped through the pages. “ ‘Sometimes the gold is visible in long veins that can be followed along a hillside,’ ” Nancy read. “ ‘But gold can also be found in pockets, many of them underground. Some pockets are the size of a fist. Others are the size of a large room.’ ” She stopped at a page in the book that showed a diagram of a mountain and the placement of gold pockets. She handed the open book to George.
“But how would Jeremiah have found the gold in the first place?” Bess asked.
“Mostly luck,” Nancy said. “But also some detective work. Pocket miners searched for pieces of gold ore on the ground and made a mark on a map for every spot where they found it. That way, by connecting the dots, they could start to form a trail of gold ore.”
“So the pocket of gold was at the end of the trail,” George said, looking at the diagram.
“Yes, if they were lucky enough to find it,” Nancy said. “Like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, I guess.”
“Maybe we could use the same method to find the gold ourselves,” George suggested.
Nancy shook her head. “That would take months, or even years. Besides, if Jeremiah picked up the pieces of ore, there wouldn’t be a trail for us to follow,” she said.
“Oh, well,” George said with a shrug. “The ride up Miner’s Creek tomorrow should be interesting, anyway. Who knows, we might get lucky, too.”
“Right,” Nancy said. “And there’s one other thing I want to do in the morning. Remember that second offer that Charlie got for his land?”
“You mean from the preservation group?” George asked. She closed the book and set it back on the nightstand.