The Great Bicycle Race Mystery

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  As Henry got back on his bike, Violet and Soo Lee rode up. “Is everything okay?” Violet asked.

  “We’re fine. Just a flat tire,” said Henry.

  They rode on, enjoying the sunshine and the farms and woods they passed. The bike riders wandered on back roads through hills and fields. But today, since they weren’t as anxious and excited as they had been on the first day of the race, they had time to notice more.

  Many people had turned out to cheer them on. Children stood at the foot of their driveways waving. The bicyclists saw signs tied to trees and mailboxes. They passed a three-person family band in front of one house: a boy playing the trumpet, a girl playing the drums, and a very little boy banging on a saucepan with a spoon.

  The Aldens waved and smiled and shouted hello as they rode by. None of them wanted to stop any more than they had to. They wanted to be sure they made it into camp in time that night.

  Shortly after lunch, Henry slowed to a stop.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Jessie.

  “Flat tire,” Henry said. “Again.” He made a disgusted face.

  He and Benny stopped the tandem. “I’m getting good at this.”

  He took out the tube. It looked as if it had gotten pinched between the rim of the wheel and the tire. Henry shook his head. “It’s a nasty hole,” he said. “I think I’ll wait to fix it until tonight to save time and put my patched spare on now.”

  “Yes. Let’s hurry. I don’t want to ride the sweep wagon,” Benny agreed. He looked nervously around. But they were a long way ahead of the sweep wagon.

  Henry smiled at his younger brother. “Don’t worry,” he said.

  He went to work on the flat and soon he and Benny were back on the road again.

  But not for long. They pedaled up a hill and slowed as they reached an intersection. A sign in the intersection said, ROAD CLOSED. DETOUR.

  Henry was about to turn down the road when he felt a familiar bump, bump, bump.

  “Oh, no!” he cried. “We have another flat.”

  “You have a bad-luck tire,” said Benny.

  “I think you’re right/’ Henry said.

  “I’m doing everything Nan told me,” Henry said. “I don’t have any spare tubes. I just hope I can ...” His voice trailed off as he saw the tube. It had caught between the wheel and the tire, just like the last time. The hole in the tube was a big one.

  “Oh, no,” said Henry under his breath.

  A bike pulled to a stop beside him.

  “Can I help?” came a voice Henry knew. He looked up in surprise.

  It was Al.

  “A flat tire,” he said. “It’s pretty bad.”

  Al looked at the tube. “Yeah, those snake bites can be nasty.”

  “Snake bites?” asked Benny, alarmed.

  “That’s what cyclists call it when the tube gets caught between the tire and the wheel rim. It usually happens when you don’t put enough air in the tube.”

  “Oh,” said Henry.

  “Fortunately I have a spare tube,” Al said. “You can have it.”

  “Thank you,” said Benny. He sounded amazed.

  ATs cheeks reddened slightly. “I guess you wouldn’t know that, with an old bike like you had. I mean, those tires had a different kind of tube in them and—”

  Henry got very still. “How would you know that?” he asked.

  Al’s cheeks grew redder. “Just a guess,” he said.

  Henry looked steadily at Al. Al wouldn’t look at Henry.

  Then Henry said quietly, “You’re the one who wrecked my bike, aren’t you?”

  Staring hard at the tube he was fitting into the tire, Al said, “Yes.”

  Benny jumped up. “That was mean!” he shouted. “And ... and really, really bad.”

  “I know,” Al said. Now his ears were red. “I’m sorry. I know it was a horrible thing to do. I didn’t mean to wreck the bike. I ran into a tree. I was just going to leave it in the woods until the race was over. It was stupid and wrong.”

  “And you let the water out of the jugs, and you changed all the signs and made the tents fall, and—”

  “No!” Al raised his head. “No!” he shouted. “I didn’t do any of those things. I’ve been trying to be better. I don’t want to be a bad sport. After I heard what Nan said at the start of the race, I realized what an awful thing I’d done. I’m sorry.”

  That stopped Benny. He folded his arms. “Well,” he said. “You should be.”

  “Anyway, I’m going to pay for fixing it. Or to replace it, if it can’t be fixed,” Al went on. He gave Henry a hopeful look. “Will you let me?”

  “Yes,” said Henry. “Thanks.”

  “Thank you,” said Al, jumping up. “And your tire is fixed. Just remember to keep a lot of air in that tube, and you shouldn’t have any more snake bites.”

  He fastened his helmet and was about to ride away when a police car pulled up. An officer got out, shaking her head. “Kids,” she said. She looked over at the three boys. “Did you move this detour sign?” she asked.

  “No!” said Henry Al, and Benny in unison.

  “Well, I’m moving it back down the road where it belongs. And if you know who did this, tell them it’s not funny,” she snapped. Lifting the sign, she tossed it in the trunk of her car and drove away.

  “That’s the wrong way, then,” said Al.

  “I guess so,” said Henry.

  “I wonder how many riders ahead of us went in that direction,” Al said.

  “Someone changed the signs, just like yesterday,” said Benny.

  Al said, “I’m going to ride to the next water stop and let them know. They can send some of the crew to catch up with any riders who might have gone the wrong way.”

  “Good idea,” said Henry.

  Without another word, Al jumped on his bike and pedaled off—in the right direction.

  Henry and Benny followed. As they reached the rest stop, they saw Ms. Whatney’s car pulling out. It turned and went back in the direction from which they had just come.

  “I wonder where they’re going,” Benny said.

  Henry wondered, too. But he didn’t talk much for the rest of the afternoon. He was too busy thinking about who could have changed the sign—and who was really behind all the bad luck that kept threatening to ruin the ride.

  Not until they were almost at the camp did Henry speak. “Benny,” he said. “Al wrecked my bike, but he didn’t do any of those other things.”

  “I know,” said Benny. “Wait until we tell everyone.”

  “I have something else to tell everyone,” said Henry.

  “What?” asked Benny.

  “I think I know who’s behind everything that has gone wrong with the great bike race,” said Henry.

  CHAPTER 9

  Henry’s Plan

  The Aldens stood at the day’s finish line, applauding as the last riders came in ahead of the sweep wagon.

  “I’m glad we didn’t follow that detour sign,” said Jessie. “Getting lost two days in a row would have been too much.”

  “Not so many people got lost this time. And what a surprise. It was Ms. Whatney who caught up with the ones who had followed the sign and got them to turn around before going too far out of their way,” said Henry.

  “And Al didn’t switch the signs today,” Benny said. “He was with us. He did say he wrecked Henry’s bike, though.”

  “I’ve told you I think I know who is behind all of the trouble now,” said Henry. “And I’ve got a plan.”

  “What? Tell us!” Jessie pleaded.

  “Follow me, and I’ll tell you while we walk,” Henry said.

  At the bike corral, the crew member who was standing guard at the entrance didn’t ask any questions. “The guard tonight?” he said. “Anna Wong. You could check for her in the volunteer tent section. Or leave a message on the volunteer message board there.”

  “Thanks,” said Henry. They found Anna Wong emerging from her tent, yawning and stretching
.

  She stopped yawning as Henry introduced himself, and the Aldens told their story. When they had finished, she said, “I can do that. I’d like to catch whoever’s behind all this, believe me. I love Eagle Mountain.”

  “We’ll meet you at dinner, then,” said Henry.

  “And don’t forget—we’ve never met before,” Jessie reminded her.

  Anna pushed her short dark hair back from her face and laughed. “I can’t remember,” she said. “And I won’t have to pretend too much to be sleepy. I still am.”

  Shortly after that, Henry led the Aldens through the dining tent. They passed several empty tables, but none of them seemed to suit him.

  Then Violet whispered, “Over there.”

  “Right,” said Henry. He walked in the direction that Violet had indicated and sat down at an empty table.

  Anna Wong appeared almost immediately, carrying her dinner.

  She slowed as she got nearer. Henry tipped his head toward the back of the person sitting at the next table across from the Aldens.

  Anna nodded back. She walked over, slid her dinner down at the place in front of Henry and just behind the person he had pointed out, and said, “Do you mind if I sit here?” She yawned loudly as she sat down.

  “Please join us,” Violet said.

  “I’m Benny,” Benny said, and introduced the rest of his family.

  “I’m Anna Wong,” Anna said. She yawned even more loudly. “I’m on the crew.”

  “Hard day?” asked Soo Lee. “You seem tired.”

  “I am tired,” Anna said. “I’m on bike corral guard duty tonight. I just hope I can ...” She let another yawn interrupt her and then finished, “... stay awake.”

  “Were you on duty last night, too?” asked Violet.

  “No. Someone else was. I just hope nothing happens tonight. It would be terrible. I would feel awful,” Anna said.

  “You’ll do fine,” Jessie reassured her.

  “I hope so,” Anna said. “I go on duty right after lights out. I just hope I don’t go on duty and then go to sleep.” She finished her sentence with the loudest yawn of all. They ate in silence for a while. When they all finished, Benny spoke first.

  “I’m getting sleepy,” Benny said. He yawned.

  “We’d better head back to our tents,” Jessie said. She stood up. The rest of the Aldens did the same.

  “Good luck tonight,” said Violet politely.

  “Thanks,” said Anna. 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 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 wh
at 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.