The Black Pearl Mystery

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  Sharks in Reef Bay?” Cousin Mary cried. “Nonsense. Reef Bay is far too small for sharks to swim in. They don’t know much about the ocean, that’s for sure. They probably thought you should snorkel in a shallow area. Well, I’ll just have to search for those maps myself. But first let me tell you about a wonderful outing I’ve planned.”

  The Aldens couldn’t wait to hear.

  How would you like to visit a volcano early tomorrow morning?” Cousin Mary asked.

  Benny immediately forgot the missing snorkels and fins. “Will the volcano be hot and bubbly?” he asked.

  Cousin Mary grinned. “Not this one. Haleakala Crater is a sleeping volcano. It hasn’t been active for over a hundred years, but the crater it left behind is quite a sight.”

  Soo Lee looked up at Cousin Mary with a serious face. “The volcano won’t wake up when we go there, will it?”

  Cousin Mary put her arm around the little girl. “No, it won’t, Soo Lee. Scientists can tell ahead of time if a volcano is going to act up. But Haleakala is still taking a nice long nap.”

  Shucks,” Benny said. “I’ll run away fast if it starts boiling up!”

  That won’t happen,” Cousin Mary told Benny. “You’ll get to see something very special instead — the sun rising up over the crater. It was formed after the volcano blew up a long time ago. Haleakala is the largest crater in the whole world.”

  Watching the sunrise wasn’t nearly as exciting to Benny as watching a volcano blow up, but he didn’t say so. Going to the top of the biggest crater would be fun, too.

  We need to arrive at the crater rim by sunrise. That means leaving here about three o’clock in the morning,” Cousin Mary explained. “You’ll have to go to bed very early.”

  Soo Lee rubbed her eyes. “That’s okay. The beach made me tired.”

  The thought of going to bed made the other children yawn and rub their eyes, too. They’d had a long day.

  Jessie and I had to fight a current to get back to shore,” Henry said. “We won’t have much trouble falling asleep early tonight. Don’t worry, though. We’ll be up in time for the sunrise.”

  Very early the next morning, Mary Cook’s van arrived at the top of the Haleakala Crater. The children had slept for most of the two-hour trip up the long, winding road. They awakened when Cousin Mary turned off the engine. There was a stiff breeze when everyone got out of the van at the visitors’ center.

  Good thing you brought your fleecy jackets to Hawaii,” Cousin Mary told the Aldens. “The temperature at the crater rim is much colder than down below. We’re ten thousand feet above sea level.”

  The children stretched out and yawned. At five o’clock in the morning, the sky was still dark. They walked to the rim of the crater but couldn’t see much in the darkness.

  Benny took a quarter from his pocket. “When it gets light, can I look through those telescope things and see if I can find our cottage?”

  Cousin Mary laughed. “These telescopes aren’t sharp enough to see that far, Benny. Still, you can see for miles from up here. The crater is nearly seven miles long.”

  Jessie rubbed her eyes. “That reminds me of something. The other night I couldn’t sleep very well, so I got up and looked through the telescope on our porch. I thought I saw a boat heading for Reef Bay. It looked as if it left from the Pineapple Place dock. Then it stopped moving.”

  Are you certain of that, Jessie?” Cousin Mary asked. “I can’t imagine anyone going out that late. Joseph has his sailboat at his beach shack in Reef Bay. As for my boat, it’s available for my staff and for guests, but no one has asked me about taking it out.”

  Jessie yawned. “Now I’m not sure what I saw. I was just so tired from waking up over and over. Maybe I dreamed it!”

  Cousin Mary waved the children over to the lookout. “Well, you’re not dreaming this. See that tiny ray of light way across the crater? That’s the sun’s first light. One Hawaiian legend says that a magician named Maui caught the sun with a rope to slow it down over the crater so his mother’s laundry would dry. That’s why the sun seems to take so long rising over Haleakala.”

  Henry looked around at the other small groups of shivering tourists. Many of them aimed their cameras at the other side of the crater where the sun was rising. The Aldens didn’t take out their camera right away. They wanted to watch the amazing sunrise with their very own eyes.

  Wow!” Benny said, along with other visitors when a huge orange ball lit up the sky. Ever so slowly, it rose over the biggest hole Benny had ever seen in his life. The sun looked almost as big as the earth itself, climbing in slow motion over the crater.

  You can see why Haleakala means ‘House of the Sun,’ ” Cousin Mary told the Aldens.

  For the next hour, Cousin Mary and the Aldens sat on the crater rim and enjoyed the bright morning sunshine. The cold air had made them hungry. They enjoyed the delicious eggsandwiches and hot cocoa Cousin Mary had brought along.

  After breakfast they stopped by the gift shop in the visitors’ center. The children wanted to send postcards to Alice and Joe Alden and to Mrs. McGregor.

  Can I write something to Watch?” Benny asked Violet.

  Sure, Benny,” Violet said. “Go ahead.”

  Benny drew a smiley face for Watch, then printed his name.

  You children can sleep all the way back to Pineapple Place,” Cousin Mary said when they climbed into the van to go home.

  I’m not sleepy,” Soo Lee said.

  Me neither,” said Benny. But within minutes after the van had started, the five Aldens fell fast asleep. They didn’t wake up again until Cousin Mary stopped for gas not far from Norma Kane’s cannery.

  Henry climbed down from the van to pump the gas for Cousin Mary. The other children stretched and yawned, happy to be awake after their long naps.

  Look, a pineapple truck from the Kane plantation is in front of us,” Henry told Cousin Mary after she drove away from the gas station.

  Cousin Mary noticed the truck, too.

  Violet could see Cousin Mary’s puzzled face in the rearview mirror. “I thought they didn’t need any more pineapples at the cannery.”

  Cousin Mary slowed down the van. “I’m going to pull to the side of the road here and run into the cannery. It can’t hurt to ask Norma whether she can use more pineapples after all. Ours are still good for juice.”

  The pineapple truck from the Kane plantation pulled off the road in front of the cannery, too. Before Cousin Mary even turned off the engine, the truck driver got out.

  Goodness! It’s Joseph!” Cousin Mary cried. “Why is he driving Norma Kane’s truck? He told me he needed a few days off. He never mentioned anything about working for Norma.” She took a deep breath and leaned her head against the steering wheel.

  This is so awful,” Violet whispered from the backseat. “Why would Joseph do that?”

  Cousin Mary restarted the van. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

  CHAPTER 9

  Wiki Wiki

  When Cousin Mary and the Aldens returned to Pineapple Place late that afternoon, they had a surprise.

  Grandfather!” Jessie said when she spotted Mr. Alden strolling by Cousin Mary’s house. “You’re back early. We’ve been pineapple picking and snorkeling and visiting an old volcano and all kinds of things.”

  Cousin Mary looked especially pleased to see her cousin James Alden. She needed to put Joseph Kahuna out of her mind for a little while. “I’m so glad you returned early, James. What a nice surprise.”

  Now I’m the one to be surprised,” Mr. Alden said. “Didn’t you get the message that I would be arriving today?”

  Cousin Mary looked confused. “What message?”

  Why, last night I left a message with a woman who answered the phone,” Mr. Alden said. “I told her I would be returning this morning, and that I’d be meeting Dr. Charlotte Lilo here. You remember I mentioned Charlotte? She’s a marine biologist at the university. You didn’t get the message?”

 
; Cousin Mary shook her head. “No, I’m afraid I didn’t. I wish I knew who took it, because maybe I missed other phone messages as well.”

  Mr. Alden looked upset. “This is a shame, it truly is. You see, Charlotte is just stopping over on Maui until tomorrow morning. She was looking forward to going snorkeling with the children this afternoon. And she even planned to bring Henry scuba diving. Now it’s so late in the day, I’m not sure —”

  At that moment, a tanned, middle-aged woman strolled up to the group. “Hello, Aldens! I’m Dr. Charlotte Lilo.”

  Are you a fish doctor?” Soo Lee asked.

  Dr. Lilo laughed. “In a way. I’m studying the fish and reefs around the Hawaiian Islands to find out how to keep them strong and healthy.”

  Mr. Alden introduced Charlotte to the children and to Cousin Mary. “Sorry they came back too late to go out on the water with you, Charlotte. No one received the message about my return.”

  Dr. Lilo didn’t seem to be a bit bothered by this. “No problem, James. We’ll just go snorkeling and diving at night. In many ways, you can see a lot more underwater at night than during the day. We’ll go out as soon as the sun goes down.”

  Night snorkeling — neat,” Benny said.

  Even Cousin Mary looked pleased at the new plans. “You’ll take my boat. One of my workers, Luke, knows many good snorkeling spots around here. Luke!” Cousin Mary called out when she saw him approaching. “We were just talking about you.”

  I found the snorkels you keep for guests, Mrs. Cook,” Luke said. “They’re clean and ready for the Aldens.”

  Luke, I’d like you to meet Dr. Charlotte Lilo. She’s going to go night snorkeling and scuba diving with the children. I was wondering if you would mind bringing everyone out to the reefs in my boat tonight.”

  Luke put out his hand. “Glad to meet you, Dr. Lilo. I’ve heard all about your work in saving our coral reefs. I’d be glad to take you and the Aldens out diving and snorkeling. How about meeting me at the dock at eight o’clock tonight?” he asked everyone.

  See you then!” Dr. Lilo answered.

  Just before eight o’clock that night, the Aldens decided to stop by Cousin Mary’s office to let her know they were leaving. Jessie knocked on the office door, which was half open. “Cousin Mary! Are you in there?”

  Oh, come in, children,” Cousin Mary answered. “I found my husband’s maps. I was just checking some snorkeling spots he had marked. Show them to Luke and Dr. Lilo before you go out in the boat.”

  Henry and Jessie came around the desk. They looked over Mary Cook’s shoulder and read the hand-drawn maps.

  These are the maps?” Jessie asked. “Where were they?”

  Cousin Mary put down the maps. “Why, right here, on top of the desk where I left them,” she told the children. “Are you sure you didn’t put them with your things by mistake? They’re wet from salt water.”

  The children gathered around. Sure enough, the maps were still damp.

  These maps weren’t on the desk at all when we were here yesterday,” Jessie said. “We looked all over. Maybe someone else borrowed them to go snorkeling.” Jessie remembered the Pierces, but she didn’t say anything. After all, anyone on the plantation might have borrowed the maps as well.

  Cousin Mary put on her reading glasses again. “No harm done, in any case. Now take a look at this spot over here that’s marked with an X. The maps are so out of date, these caves are completely underwater now. In the old days, they were in fairly shallow water at low tide. But hurricanes and currents have changed the beach since then. Now the only way to reach the caves is to swim out to them as you did yesterday or go out by boat. Wiki wiki,children.”

  “Wiki wiki?” Soo Lee asked.

  Wiki wiki means ‘Hurry, hurry’!” Cousin Mary said, shooing the children toward the door.

  Cousin Mary’s motorboat was already running when the Aldens met Dr. Lilo and Luke at the dock.

  Luke set down a large metal can. “We’re all set. I checked the gas tank for leaks, and there’s no problem. It’s funny. I filled the tank the other day, but I had to refill it just now. I wonder if one of the other workers or guests took the boat out. Anyway, we’re fine now. I have life jackets for everyone. Dr. Lilo stowed the scuba and snorkeling gear in the hatch. So step in.”

  Dr. Lilo and the Aldens found seats in the boat. Then they set out toward Reef Bay, where the best snorkeling spots were.

  A few minutes later, everyone spotted a larger boat stopped in the water up ahead.

  That’s one of the cargo boats,” Luke said, slowing down. “Some of the plantations ship their fruit across Reef Bay by boat. I wonder why it’s out at night and why it’s anchored here. Usually cargo boats head straight to the cannery or warehouse docks to unload their fruit.”

  It’s marked Kane Plantation,” Henry said, looking through the binoculars.

  Luke slowed down. “Can you take over the controls, Dr. Lilo? I’d like to check out that boat. Why would it anchor all the way over here? Maybe it’s in trouble.”

  As Dr. Lilo steered the motorboat closer, the cargo boat pulled away quickly.

  Luke tracked the boat with the binoculars, but it was too dark to see much. “It’s the Kane boat, all right. I could’ve sworn they just pulled up a scuba diver. Pretty strange for a cargo boat to be used for scuba diving,” Luke said.

  Luke slowed the boat, then cut the motor. “Here’s where we drop anchor. The underwater caves are close by.”

  Dr. Lilo and the Aldens double-checked their snorkeling and scuba equipment and life jackets. They were ready.

  You can jump in, dive in, or just step down from the boat,” Luke said.

  Luke and the younger children stayed in the boat. After Dr. Lilo did a last-minute check of Henry’s scuba tanks, she, Henry, and Jessie slipped into the water.

  Dr. Lilo, Henry, and Jessie each had underwater spotlights. They were amazed at the underwater world, which was so alive with fish even at night.

  Jessie pulled out her disposable underwater camera. She took a picture of Henry entering a cave. She had just clicked a picture when she heard a loud horn on the surface. She lifted her head. A large boat was moving in their direction.

  Sharks around here,” someone on the boat shouted to Luke and the children. “You should get everyone out of the water real quick.”

  Jessie didn’t waste a second. She dived down to warn Henry and Dr. Lilo.

  A few minutes later, Henry, Jessie, and Dr. Lilo surfaced, then swam back to the boat and climbed in.

  What a shame we had to cut our dive short,” Dr. Lilo said. “I’ve never heard of sharks swimming in the bay. That would be very unusual behavior for a shark. I’ll have to check into this.”

  Henry was even more disappointed. “I’d really like to return here another time. I’m pretty sure that was the cave I saw when you and I went snorkeling, Jessie. This time I got inside.”

  Did you see the silvery object you spotted yesterday?” Jessie asked.

  Henry shook his head. “I didn’t see anything. It looked just like the same cave, but whatever I saw inside yesterday has disappeared.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Aloha Means “Good-bye”

  When the Aldens arrived at breakfast the next morning, Cousin Mary and Grandfather Alden were discussing future plans for Pineapple Place.

  Well, Mary, I’m sorry I couldn’t arrange that bank loan on this trip. I know how disappointing that is,” Mr. Alden said. “But I found out that the senator will get going on those road repair funds that have been tied up for the last couple of years.”

  Cousin Mary stared into her coffee cup. “Yes, thank you, James. Having good roads out this way will be a big help in a couple of years. Of course, I’d hoped for the bank loan for a few things. Now that Norma Kane won’t buy our crop, some of the small owners are renting space on a charter plane to ship our pineapples to Korea in two days. The loan would have made that possible. It would also have given me some money to fix up two o
r three more cottages so I could rent them out to tourists.”

  Grandfather Alden patted Cousin Mary’s hand. “I know we’re leaving tomorrow, Mary, but I’ve made some excellent contacts in Honolulu. I’ll follow up with phone calls to the banks, don’t you worry.”

  Cousin Mary tried to smile. “All of you have been so helpful. I wish you’d come at a better time when everything wasn’t upside down.”

  Like pineapple upside-down cake?” Soo Lee asked. “I ate that for dessert last night.”

  Now Cousin Mary smiled a real smile. “Yes, like pineapple upside-down cake, Soo Lee.”

  Now tell me about the visitors who rented the other guest cottage,” Mr. Alden said. “How are they enjoying their stay? Maybe they’ll spread the good word to their friends about a Pineapple Place vacation.”

  Cousin Mary didn’t speak right away. Instead she reached into one of the folders in front of her. She handed Mr. Alden a piece of paper. “Read this, James.”

  Mr. Alden read the note aloud:

  Dear Mrs. Cook,

  Thanks for renting us the guest cottage. Sorry we didn’t stay the whole two weeks. Here’s a check for five nights.

  Richard and Emma Pierce

  I’d been hoping the Pierces would stay the whole time,” Cousin Mary began, “since money has been so tight. I think I upset them last evening when I asked if they had borrowed my husband’s old maps. The next thing I knew, they left. Very odd people.”

  How so?” Mr. Alden wanted to know.

  Before Cousin Mary could answer, Benny spoke up. “They wouldn’t go scuba diving with Henry even though they had tanks and fins and everything. And they didn’t know anything about sharks. And then they tried to snoop in the office, but we scared them away!”

  Mr. Alden couldn’t help laughing. “Did you, now? Well, I guess it’s time to go back to Greenfield if you’re scaring away Cousin Mary’s paying guests.”

  Nonsense,” Cousin Mary said, laughing along with Mr. Alden. “Your grandchildren are the best advertisement for Pineapple Place. In fact, I made copies of a flier Violet drew to tell tourists about the plantation. I only have the two guest cottages fixed up right now, but it’s a start. We’re going to hand the fliers out at our farmers’ market booth this morning.”