by Charles Tang
“Let’s turn our flashlights back on soshe can see us,” Henry suggested.
“Hello? Hello?” Jessie called out. “Coming through.”
Blinded by the flashlights, the blond young woman couldn’t see the Aldens very well. “Who’s there?” she yelled. Before getting an answer, the Aldens saw her put away a camera and some other equipment in a duffel bag. Then the woman turned off all but one spotlight.
Jessie walked ahead of the others. “We’re the Aldens. We’re caving down here. How about you?”
The woman zipped up the bag and shoved it back with her foot. She stared a long time at the Aldens before answering. “I’m—uh—Crystal Hollowell. I just discovered this cave while I was out hiking and decided to come in. I’m a—a—biologist—at the Rockville Community College. I wanted to see what kind of animal life there is down here.”
Benny looked up at the woman. “Did you fall down the hole, too?”
Crystal didn’t bother to answer Benny’s question. In fact, she looked upset to see the Aldens there at all. “Children shouldn’t be allowed down here by themselves. Caves are delicate environments. They get damaged easily. I advise you to stay away from these caves.”
“Our family is friends with Nelly Stoner, who runs the Dragon’s Mouth Cavern. She told us all about caves and rocks and how to be careful around them. And I’ve done some caving myself,” Henry reassured her.
The young woman’s jaw tightened. “You didn’t tell this Mrs. Stoner person about this cave, did you?”
“Sure we did. And Mr. Howe, too,” Benny piped up. “Henry and Jessie said you always have to tell somebody when you’re going caving. Did you do that?”
“I most certainly did not,” Miss Hollowell answered back. “Otherwise people who don’t know anything would be down here ruining everything.”
Jessie tried to figure out why Miss Hollowell seemed so annoyed. “I thought you found this cave by accident,” Jessie said, staring at the duffel bag. “You brought tools and lights.”
Miss Hollowell nudged her bag even farther back. “These aren’t tools, young lady. As for the lights, well—uh—I bring them with me whenever I go hiking just in case I have to go into dark places to study—uh—animal tracks and so forth.”
Benny whirled around and pointed down the cave. “Did you see the giant monster tracks back there? We did yesterday and today.”
This annoyed Miss Hollowell even more. “You were in here yesterday, snooping around? Was anyone else with you?”
“Nope,” Benny answered. “But we met Joe Caveman.”
“Joe Caveman?” Miss Hollowell said. “Someone else was down here? Who was it? Was he alone?”
The children looked at one another. Why did this woman mind that other people liked to visit this cave too?
“Benny made up the name when the man wouldn’t tell us who he was,” Henry explained. “He was the only person we saw.”
“Did he have anything with him? Tools and such?” the young woman demanded.
Jessie shrugged. “He had a big bag. That’s all we saw.”
Crystal Hollowell gathered up her belongings.
“I wish we had spotlights like that,” Benny said. “Or a headlamp. Henry had one, almost like yours, but it disappeared. I bet we could find the monster if we had lots more lights.”
“What nonsense. This equipment is for scientists, not children,” Miss Hollowell told the Aldens.
“Did you find any animals?” Violet asked.
Miss Hollowell looked puzzled. “Animals? What animals? Now, can you please make room so I can get by? All of you should leave, too. There’s supposed to be a big rainstorm today. This cave could get flooded.” With that, Miss Hollowell disappeared down the cave without even saying good-bye.
The Aldens decided to leave, too. They turned back, this time with Henry in the lead. “Boy, Crystal Hollowell sure thinks she owns this cave, don’t you think, Jessie?”
Jessie didn’t answer Henry’s question. She hadn’t moved a step yet except to shine her flashlight on the cave wall that Crystal Hollowell had just been standing near. “Take a look at this wall,” Jessie said.
The others came over to see what Jessie was talking about.
“It looks as if someone chipped away at it,” Henry said. “There are stone chunks all over the floor. And she was the one who said people shouldn’t come down here and ruin things.”
Jessie ran her fingers over the stone. “It seems odd for someone who studies plants and animals to be hammering cave walls.”
“Let’s ask Mrs. Stoner or Mr. Howe about Crystal Hollowell,” Henry suggested. “If she teaches at the local college, they probably know who she is.”
“ ’Specially if she’s one of those ’lunkers,” Benny said. “Like we are.”
The other three children laughed as they made their way back to the entrance.
“Okay, you two,” Henry said to Benny and Violet. “I’ve got a game. I stuck eleven pieces of tape on the walls when we came in. I want Benny to find each piece with his flashlight, and Violet can peel them off. We have to take everything out that we brought in just the way we do on our hikes.”
Finally the Aldens reached the circle of sunlight shining down on the cave floor.
“Hey, that’s another thing,” Henry said, when he saw the sunlight. “Miss Hollowell said we should get out of the cave because a rainstorm’s coming. But there isn’t a cloud out today. She doesn’t want anybody down in this cave, that’s for sure.”
Henry cradled his hands to give the younger children a boost up. One by one, they popped up from the sinkhole. Everyone was glad to get out and stretch in the warm sun after their chilly underground visit.
“Hey, look what I found,” Benny said when they started toward the cliff. “A shovel.”
Jessie looked at the shiny red shovel. “It looks new. Maybe Crystal Hollowell dropped it on her way out.”
“Or maybe somebody else was here but left when they saw our stick and flag,” Benny said.
“That could be,” Jessie said. “People seem to want this cave to themselves. I wonder why?”
CHAPTER 5
The Aldens Get a Warning
When the Aldens got back to their cabin, they put away their caving equipment and backpacks.
Henry put the red shovel in a closet. “At suppertime I’ll call Rockville Community College from the coffee shop. Maybe Crystal Hollowell knows about this shovel.”
Jessie pulled out some beach towels and suntan lotion. “How about a swim between now and supper?”
“Yippee!” Benny cried.
The Aldens trooped down to the pool and immediately jumped in.
“See, Henry, I can do a dive now,” Violet called out from the diving board. She put her feet together, gave a bounce, and went into the water straight as an arrow.
“Nice dive!” Henry yelled back.
“Watch me, Henry!” Benny cried from the shallow end of the pool. He swam all the way across before bobbing up like a porpoise.
Violet swam over to the shallow end, then boosted herself up to get warm. “I liked caving, but it’s fun being out in the sun now. I hope we can come back early every day so we can swim.”
The Aldens were so busy talking and swimming, they didn’t notice that two men on the side of the pool were listening to every word.
“We’ll try to get back early for a swim tomorrow,” Henry told Violet. “But don’t forget. We promised Benny we’d follow those monster tracks. We may be down in the cave a long time tomorrow.”
One of the men, a tall man with dark hair and a moustache, stepped into the pool. He began swimming laps right next to the Aldens. When the children stopped swimming, the man did, too. “I’m Randall Pitt,” he said when he came up for air. “Did I hear you kids talking about caves around here?”
Henry stopped swimming. “Hello. I’m Henry Alden, and that’s Benny, Jessie, and Violet. We were talking about some caving we did yesterday and today. Are you a spe
lunker, too?”
“A what?” Mr. Pitt asked.
“You know,” Henry said. “Someone who goes caving for fun.”
The man looked confused for a second. “Sure, I guess you could say that. That’s my friend Ed Lyme over there. We’ve been caving before, only not around here. No way.”
Henry looked surprised. “Why not around here? This is one of the best caving areas in the country. Every guidebook says so.”
“It’s none of my business,” Mr. Pitt began, “but you should know something the guidebooks don’t tell you. Caving’s not kids’ stuff—not around here anyway.”
When Jessie heard this, she had to speak up. “What do you mean? We’ve read a lot about caving. We followed all the safety rules and came out just fine.”
“Then you were lucky,” the man said, turning to Jessie. “Your guidebook probably didn’t tell you about the cave-in that happened a couple years back. Bunch of kids down there nearly got crushed when part of the cave came down on their heads. Just a friendly warning, that’s all,” the man said before he left the pool.
The children felt goosebumps up and down their arms, but not from the cold water.
Violet could hardly get her words out. “A cave-in? Why didn’t Mr. Howe or Mrs. Stoner tell us?”
Henry watched the two men hurry from the pool area. “Good point. They’d never let us go into the local caves if there’d ever been a problem. Look, it’s nearly time for supper. Let’s dry off and head over to the coffee shop.”
For once, the word “supper” didn’t make Benny jump up and down. Now he was shivery and a little sad, too. Until Mr. Pitt showed up, Benny couldn’t wait to go on a monster hunt in the cave. But not if it might come tumbling down on his head!
“Don’t worry, you two,” Henry said when he saw Benny and Violet lagging behind. “I bet Mr. Pitt doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
“Hey, why such long faces?” Mr. Howe asked when he greeted the Aldens. “I saw you folks splashing in the pool having a good time. Anything wrong?”
Henry spoke up first. “One of the guests here, a Mr. Pitt, told us there was a cave-in around here a couple years ago.”
“He said some kids were almost crushed,” Violet whispered.
“I don’t want to go to any more caves that might fall down on us,” Benny added.
Mr. Howe leaned over to hear the children better. “What cave-in? Our local caves are safe as can be. Never had anyone lost, or hurt, or anything. I’d be the first to know if there was a cave-in. And I certainly wouldn’t tell my guests to explore them if there’d ever been any trouble.”
“Do you know Mr. Pitt?” Jessie asked. “He’s got dark hair and a moustache and a friend, Mr. Lyme, with not too much hair and no moustache. I think they were on the cavern tour the other day.”
“I know who you mean. Checked in here the night you did. Kept pestering me for your Little Nose Cabin. Raced out of here when I told ’em it was already taken. But then they came back again and took another cabin. Can’t say I like those pushy types.”
“Me neither!” Benny announced. “Now I don’t feel like caving anymore.”
Mr. Howe led the children to a booth. “Look, here’s Nelly Stoner. I promise she’ll tell you the same thing I said. There’s never been a cave-in around these parts.”
Mrs. Stoner was happy to see the Aldens. “What cave-in are you talking about? We have plenty of caves nearby but certainly no cave-ins. The only exciting thing that ever happened in our caves took place about ten years ago. The police caught a bank robber hiding down there. I believe the man’s been in jail ever since. But a cave-in? Never!”
“You’re sure?” Jessie asked. “One of the guests told us to stay away from any caves around here.”
Benny pulled at Jessie’s sleeve. “And know what? A lady we saw in the cave said so, too.”
Mrs. Stoner patted Benny’s hand. “Oh, it’s probably some local person who wants to keep everyone else out, particularly young people. She probably didn’t know how careful you Aldens are when you go hiking and caving. Not many other children could be trusted down there without an adult. Did you catch the woman’s name?”
“Crystal Hollowell,” Henry answered. “Do you know her? She’s a biologist at Rockville Community College. We were going to call her in a little while. We think she left a shovel behind by mistake.”
Mrs. Stoner was puzzled by this information. “The name sounds a bit familiar, but I don’t think it’s from the college. I teach a geology course there. As far as I know, no one by that name is on the staff. A biologist, you said?”
Jessie nodded. “The thing is, Miss Hollowell didn’t seem to know much about animals or plants or anything that ties into biology.”
“And know what else?” Benny cried. “She said it was going to rain, but it was sunny out. She said we better get out of there. And—and . . . ” Benny took a deep breath. “And she said she found the cave by accident. But she had a big bag of caving stuff with her.”
“We found her down there by accident,” Jessie continued. “She had all sorts of spotlights and equipment. When she saw us in the cave, she stuffed everything into a duffel bag so we couldn’t see it.”
Henry slid out of the booth. “I’m going to call the college right now. I want to find out if Crystal Hollowell works there or not. She might have left a brand-new shovel right on the ground. Order me whatever you’re getting, okay, Jessie?”
Mr. Howe came over to take everyone’s orders. “I hope you straightened out these children, Nelly. I wouldn’t want them to miss out on our wonderful caves just because of someone telling tall tales. I can’t say I was too fond of Mr. Pitt and Mr. Lyme. I had to tell ’em several times to slow down when they’re driving in the motor court. Now, what’ll you folks have?”
Everyone ordered spaghetti, Benny’s favorite dish. In a short time, Mr. Howe came by and set down five dinners, including Henry’s. “Where’s your brother?” Mr. Howe asked Violet.
“He had to make a phone call to find out about a woman we met in the cave,” Violet answered. “Her name is Crystal Hollowell. Do you know her, Mr. Howe?”
“Can’t say that I do,” he answered before going back to the kitchen.
Mrs. Stoner put down her fork without taking a bite. “Crystal Hollowell. Suddenly that name rings a bell. What did she look like, Jessie?”
“About your height, blue eyes, I think, but I’m not sure. Even with all our flashlights, it was hard to tell,” Jessie explained. “She also had frizzy blond hair tucked under her hard hat.”
Benny leaned across the booth. “Know what? She had on a headlamp almost like Henry’s! Only his was stolen from our cabin.”
“You had something stolen from your cabin?” Mrs. Stoner exclaimed. “Did you tell Mr. Howe?”
“Not yet,” Jessie said. “We were so tired when we unpacked our things the first night. Henry wondered if he dropped it or left it in Grandfather’s car.”
“Guess what?” Henry said when he came back to the booth. “There’s no Crystal Hollowell at Rockville Community College. Not in the biology department or in the local phone book either.”
“I was just trying to remember if I’ve ever met her,” Mrs. Stoner said. “It sounds so familiar to me, but I can’t quite place it. I am sorry to hear that your headlamp is missing, Henry.”
“Me too,” Henry said. “I know I had it in the souvenir shop when I got new batteries for it. And I think I left it on the dresser in the cabin. But it was so late, maybe I didn’t.” Henry lowered his voice. “I didn’t tell Mr. Howe yet. I don’t want him to think I’m careless. Anyway, nothing else is missing.”
Mrs. Stoner put down her fork. “Actually, I have something missing. A rubber raft my staff uses in the Dragon’s Mouth Cavern has disappeared. We keep it tied by the wooden steps where the tour boat pulls in. But it’s been gone for a couple days. I suppose it may have floated away, but I wonder . . . ”
“Maybe we can find it,” B
enny said, his eyes sparkling. “We’re going to look for the monster, and maybe we’ll find a stream or an underground lake! Unless somebody chases us out again.”
“I certainly hope not,” Mrs. Stoner said. “Now I’m off. I want to check my address book for that woman’s name, or I won’t be able to sleep a wink tonight.”
Suddenly Benny tapped Mrs. Stoner’s arm. “Wait! She’s over there. That’s her talking on the phone—Crystal Hollowell.”
Mrs. Stoner and the other Aldens looked up. They saw Miss Hollowell cup her hand over the phone. Benny strolled over to a gumball machine next to the pay phone. Miss Hollowell lowered her voice. Benny dropped in a nickel. Out came a gumball. Benny took his time before coming back to the booth.
“I heard what she said!” Benny whispered when he returned. “She told someone she’s going to be famous if somebody doesn’t get in the way. She’s meeting the person she was talking to in fifteen minutes.”
Mrs. Stoner and the Aldens weren’t in any rush to leave the coffee shop now. Not until they spoke to Miss Hollowell, anyway.
The Aldens caught her on her way out the door.
“Miss Hollowell, Miss Hollowell!” Henry called out. “Wait up. We found your shovel near the cave.”
When she heard this, Miss Hollowell whirled around. “My shovel? What shovel? What did it look like?”
“It’s a red metal shovel for digging dirt,” Henry said.
Miss Hollowell put her hands on her hips. “That—uh—it could—uh—be mine. Where exactly did you find it?”
“Right outside the sinkhole,” Jessie said. “We can show it to you. It’s up in our cabin.”
Crystal Hollowell checked her watch. “I can’t go right now. I have to meet someone.”
Henry opened the door for the woman. “If you’re going caving tomorrow, you can meet us at the sinkhole entrance. We’ll be there around ten o’clock. We’ll bring the shovel with us.”
“Make sure you do!” Miss Hollowell said in a sharp voice. “An expensive piece of equipment like that doesn’t belong in the hands of a bunch of children.”
