Mystery of the Hot Air Balloon

by Charles Tang

  Mr. Alden introduced the children. “This is Barbara Moran, Pete’s wife,” he said. “She and Pete own the inn.”

  “Welcome,” Barbara said. “Your rooms are ready.” She did not look at them. Instead, she stared out the window and watched the woman with the perfect hair get into her car.

  “Is there something wrong, Barbara?” Mr. Alden asked. “Where’s Pete?”

  Barbara’s face reddened. “Oh, no, nothing,” she answered. “I’m just a little upset about something. Pete will be back soon. He just ran out to take care of an errand. I thought he’d be back before you arrived.” She smiled. “Let me show you your rooms.”

  She led them up the curved staircase and down a narrow hall. “I’ve given you adjoining rooms and bath,” she said and opened two doors.

  Henry, Benny, and Mr. Alden went into one room; Jessie, Violet, and Soo Lee into the other. The rooms were large with high ceilings and tall, narrow windows. They were furnished with antiques. Between the two rooms was a big bathroom.

  Barbara said, “If there’s anything you need, just ask.”

  “It looks as if you’ve thought of everything,” Mr. Alden responded.

  “When you’re settled, come downstairs. I’ll make tea,” Barbara said.

  “I hope there’s going to be something else besides tea,” Benny said when Barbara left. “I’m — ”

  “ — hungry,” the others chimed in.

  Mr. Alden was the first one ready. “I’ll meet you downstairs,” he told Soo Lee and his grandchildren. “I’d like to visit with Barbara.”

  After he had gone, Henry said, “Barbara seemed . . . strange.”

  “Because of the argument,” Violet said.

  Henry looked puzzled. “What argument?”

  “We heard her arguing with another woman,” Soo Lee explained.

  “Before you and Grandfather came in,” Jessie added.

  “The other woman — her name was Mary,” Benny put in. “I saw her leave. She was all dressed up.”

  “I wonder what they were arguing about?” Jessie said.

  “Probably nothing to do with us,” Henry said.

  CHAPTER 3

  Too Many Questions

  When the Aldens came downstairs, Barbara met them in the entry hall. “Come into the parlor,” she said and led them into the room where the argument had taken place.

  Grandfather was already there.

  A table in the center of the room was set with juice, tea, coffee, and plates of pastries and breads.

  “Oh, boy,” Benny said. “Does it smell good!”

  “It tastes good, too,” Grandfather assured him.

  “Help yourselves,” Barbara told them.

  They filled their plates and sat down.

  “Have you lived here long, Mrs. Moran?” Jessie asked politely.

  Barbara laughed. “Oh, my, yes,” she said. “All my life. I love this old town. Please call me Barbara.” She seemed to relax for the first time since the Aldens’ arrival.

  “Barbara’s grandparents and the Lloyds founded Lloyd’s Landing,” Grandfather explained. “Does Mary still live here?” he asked Barbara.

  “Mary?” she repeated as though she’d never heard the name before. “Ah, yes, she’s — uh — still . . . here.”

  Mary. That was the name of the woman Barbara had been arguing with. Benny poked Violet. She gave him a warning glance.

  “Mary who?” Benny asked.

  “Mary England,” Grandfather answered. “She’s the Lloyds’ granddaughter. As I remember she left town — wanted to see the world — but it wasn’t long before she realized there was no place like home.”

  “That’s for sure,” Benny said. He took his plate back to the table for seconds.

  Sky and Matt came in.

  Sky looked surprised and happy. “You made it!” she said.

  Benny’s smile was wide. “I told you we would.”

  Grandfather stepped forward and introduced himself.

  “You must be the grandfather we’ve heard so much about,” Matt said as he shook Mr. Alden’s hand.

  “And you two must be the adventurers I’ve been hearing so much about,” Grandfather responded. “Are you staying here, too?”

  “For the time being,” Matt answered. “We rented a store in town. There’s an apartment above it. We have some work to do on it before we can move in.”

  “As soon as everything’s ready,” Sky added, “we’re getting married.”

  Everyone except Barbara said, “Congratulations.”

  Soo Lee was thinking about their store. She pictured it in the center of town. Surely, they couldn’t launch balloons from there. “Where do you . . . take off?” she asked.

  Sky seemed to know what she was thinking. She laughed. “We’d certainly stop traffic if we tried to launch a balloon in the middle of Main Street.”

  “The balloon port is just outside town,” Matt explained. “The store is our headquarters.”

  “No matter where you launch them,” Barbara said, “balloons will stop traffic.”

  “That could be good for this old town,” Mr. Alden said. “Put some life into it.”

  Barbara shot him a disbelieving glance. “There’s nothing wrong with this town,” she said. After a pause, she laughed nervously. “Oh, dear. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just that I don’t understand why Sky and Matt chose Lloyd’s Landing for their business.”

  Matt smiled. “For the reason you said: There’s nothing wrong with this town.”

  “It’s a very charming town,” Sky put in. “We looked all over before deciding to open our business here.”

  “Yes, but with all the hills and the forests, won’t it be dangerous?” Barbara asked.

  “Ballooning is dangerous only when the pilot is untrained or takes risks,” Matt answered.

  “Balloonists enjoy beautiful scenery,” Sky said. “Lloyd’s Landing has plenty of that.”

  “We’re so far from the main highway,” Barbara said. “Wouldn’t it be more profitable to locate closer to . . . traffic?”

  Sky laughed. “If we wanted to make lots of money,” she responded, “we wouldn’t be in the ballooning business.”

  Barbara kept asking questions.

  Finally, Henry said, “I read a newspaper article about this — are the townspeople against the business coming to town?”

  Barbara’s face reddened. She picked up the coffeepot. “Excuse me,” she said. “I’ll get more coffee.” She hurried away.

  “Have you been having trouble with the local people?” Mr. Alden asked Matt.

  “No trouble, really,” Matt answered. “They don’t know anything about ballooning so it makes them a little . . . edgy.”

  “We bought the property,” Sky said. “It’s ours. We have every right to be here.”

  Barbara came in from the kitchen. “Mr. Alden, there’s a telephone call for you. You can take it in the hall.”

  Grandfather sighed. “I hope it’s not the mill.”

  But it was. “I’m sorry, but I have to get back home,” he said when he returned. “I’m needed at the mill.”

  The children tried to hide their disappointment, but it was difficult.

  “Don’t look so sad,” Mr. Alden told them. “I think we can work this out.”

  Barbara said, “The children are welcome to stay here. I’ll keep an eye on them.”

  “They’re very independent,” Grandfather said. “I’m sure they won’t be any trouble.”

  “I’ll be happy to have them,” Barbara said.

  “They’ll be out at the port with us most of the time,” Sky put in. “We’re on our way out there now. Would you like to ride along?” she asked the children.

  Suddenly, Benny was no longer hungry. He set his plate on the table. “Would we ever!”

  “Good. Then it’s settled,” Mr. Alden said. He hugged each of his grandchildren. “I’ll pick you up on Sunday evening.”

  “Is everybody ready?” Sky a
sked.

  They were.

  “Well then, let’s go!” She headed for the door.

  The children followed.

  “Oh, Benny,” Grandfather said. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

  Benny cocked his head. “Am I?” he said.

  “Your second helping of this delicious cinnamon bread.”

  “Oh, that’s all right,” Benny said. “I’ve had enough.”

  CHAPTER 4

  The Runaway Balloon

  “Look!” Soo Lee shouted. Sitting in the back of Sky’s van, she pointed out the window.

  “It’s a balloon!” Benny exclaimed.

  To their right, a brightly colored balloon drifted high above the trees.

  “Who could that be?” Matt wondered.

  Behind the wheel, Sky was not so calm. “Whoever it is is in big trouble,” she said. “No one’s supposed to go up until we’re there.”

  “It seems to be coming down,” Violet observed.

  “It just looks that way,” Henry said.

  Matt thrust his head out the window. “No, no. Violet’s right! The balloon is coming down!”

  “It can’t be,” Sky said. “It’s over the woods. If it comes down there, it’ll get tangled in the trees.”

  Trying to keep the balloon in sight, they drove along the road. Coming to a large, open field filled with trucks and people preparing their balloons for flight, Sky turned in and stopped. She hopped out of the van and ran toward a small group of people, shouting, “Who’s up there?”

  Matt and the Aldens raced after her.

  A large man broke from the group. “If this is the way you’re going to run things, you’ll never be successful,” he said.

  “Who’s up there?” Sky persisted.

  “Who knows,” the man answered. “Your whole operation is a disaster.”

  He kept talking, but Sky wasn’t listening. She turned to the others gathered there. “Did anyone see who launched that balloon?” she asked.

  No one had.

  “Don Fister was the only one here when we arrived,” a woman said.

  Don Fister, the man who was complaining, snapped, “Oh, no! You’re not going to blame me for this. That balloon was airborne when I got here.”

  “Calm down, Don,” Sky said. “No one’s blaming you for anything.”

  Another woman hurried over to the scene. Although the woman’s graying hair was windblown, and she wasn’t wearing white gloves, Benny recognized her. He poked Jessie. “That’s the woman we saw leave the inn,” Benny whispered.

  “What woman?” Jessie asked.

  “You know — Mary. The one who was arguing with Barbara.”

  “I was afraid of something like this,” Mary was saying. “Too many trees for ballooning. It’s just not safe. You should rethink this, Ms. Blair. There are plenty of places more suitable for your business.”

  “Business? Ha!” Don Fister said. “It’s a joke, that’s what it is. They don’t have a business. They have a plan for failure.”

  Sky wasn’t paying any attention. “Come on, Matt,” she said. “We have to go after that balloon.” She turned and headed toward the van.

  The Aldens hung back. Should they go along? Would they be in the way?

  Matt answered their unspoken question. “Hurry!” he said to them. “That balloon’s in trouble! We can’t waste a minute!”

  “That Don Fister sure was nasty,” Benny commented as they drove away from the launch site.

  Matt waved his hand. “Don’t pay any attention to him,” he said. “He’s full of hot air.”

  “Like the balloons,” Soo Lee said.

  Benny laughed. “That’s a good joke, Soo Lee.”

  Sky laughed, too. “And true,” she said. “Don owns a balloon business a few hours away. He thinks he’s the only one who knows anything about ballooning. But I must admit, he’s a crackerjack balloonist.”

  “Yeah,” Matt agreed. “He doesn’t like us but he never misses a rally. Don loves competition.”

  They made several wrong turns before they found the balloon. It was suspended from an oak tree at the edge of a small clearing in the forest preserve.

  “The basket looks empty,” Jessie said as they climbed out of the van.

  “Let’s hope it is,” Sky said.

  Matt climbed the tree. Looking down into the basket, he said, “It’s empty all right.”

  “How’s the balloon?” Sky asked.

  Matt examined the brightly colored cloth. “Looks pretty good. No big tears. Now, if I can just — ”

  They all held their breath as Matt reached out to release the balloon.

  “Got it!”

  The basket fell at their feet with a thud. The deflated balloon floated down on top of it.

  “This balloon is small,” Benny observed.

  Struggling to help fold it, Henry said, “It looks big to me.”

  “Me, too,” Soo Lee put in.

  “Compared to ours, this balloon is small,” Matt said.

  “Ours can carry a larger basket — which means more people can fit inside,” Sky added.

  Everyone helped pack the balloon and basket into the van.

  On the way back to the port, Henry asked, “How did the balloon escape?”

  “Someone had to inflate it and let it go,” Matt explained.

  “Maybe it was an accident,” Violet suggested.

  “Right,” Benny said. “Probably whoever blew it up, didn’t mean to let it go.”

  “Possible,” Sky said, “but not likely.”

  “Wouldn’t the owner of the balloon have said something?” Jessie asked.

  “I should think so,” Sky said. “The owner would be very upset.”

  Suddenly Soo Lee said, “Maybe someone meant to let the balloon go.”

  Matt nodded. “I think you’re right, Soo Lee. This was no accident.”

  Before the van had come to a complete stop, a man ran up waving his arms and shouting.

  “I think I know who owns the runaway balloon,” Matt said.

  “Brad Golder,” Sky said.

  At the van window, Brad Golder, a thin, balding man, asked urgently, “Did you find it? Did you find my balloon?”

  Sky pointed her thumb toward the back of the van. “Relax, Brad. Everything’s under control,” she assured him.

  “Under control? Is that what you think? Someone steals my balloon and you say everything’s under control?”

  Matt came around the side of the van and put his hand on Brad’s shoulder.

  “What happened, Brad?” Matt asked. “Where were you when your balloon was launched?”

  Trying to calm himself, Brad took several deep breaths. Then he said, “I left my gear near my truck and went into town for breakfast. When I got back here, it was gone. Don told me my balloon was in the sky. I’ve been frantic.” He began to pace. “If anything’s happened to that balloon, you’re responsible. If this is the kind of business you’re going to run, maybe we don’t need it around here.”

  “It looks all right,” Sky told him. “Why don’t we get it out and take a look.”

  Sky opened the back of the van, and they hoisted the balloon down.

  As they spread out the balloon, Don Fister wandered over. “That balloon’s a goner,” he said. “This whole operation is over before it starts.”

  “Listen, Fister,” Matt said. “You’re wrong.”

  “Let’s take a look at this,” Sky said changing the subject as she began to examine the balloon spread out before them.

  They went over the nylon covering inch by inch. Brad found a small tear. “Easy to repair,” he decided. He was obviously relieved that there was so little damage.

  Mary joined the group. Benny noticed that her hair was still messy.

  “Is everything under control here?” she asked.

  Henry spoke up. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “Mr. Golder’s balloon wasn’t badly damaged.”

  “Ah, but it could have been. That is the p
oint,” she said. Without smiling she thrust out her hand. “I’m Mary England. I don’t believe we’ve met. Pleased to meet you, I’m sure,” she said.

  The Aldens didn’t think she seemed at all pleased.

  At the other side of the field, a car pulled in. A man got out.

  “There’s the press,” Don Fister commented. “Wait until they find out about this little misadventure.”

  CHAPTER 5

  More Trouble

  An older man approached. His glasses were perched on the top of his head. Under his arm was a large brown envelope.

  “Is he a reporter?” Jessie asked.

  “That’s Hollis McKnight,” Sky answered. “He’s the owner and editor of The Landing Times, the local newspaper.” She started toward him. “Oh, Mr. McKnight, I have the money for the ad,” she told him.

  Mr. McKnight said, “I’ll get the money later. Right now I have to speak with Mary.” He took Mary England’s arm and led her away.

  “Did you tell McKnight what’s been going on around here?” Don Fister said.

  Matt ignored him.

  Sky touched Matt’s arm. “Come on, Matt,” she said. “Don will cool off. In the meantime, let’s show the Aldens what this balloon business is all about.” She started toward a small shed at one corner of the field.

  The Aldens followed.

  “One of these days, we’re going to enlarge this storage shed,” Sky told them.

  “We’re going to make it into a lounge,” Matt added. “With tables and chairs.”

  “And a big window so people can see the balloons ascend,” Sky said.

  “Will there be anything to eat?” Benny asked.

  “A well-equipped snack bar,” Matt answered.

  Benny was glad to hear that.

  At the shed, Sky said, “Tomorrow you’ll be part of our chase crew.”

  “And you’ll help with the launch,” Matt added.

  “Wait here,” Sky instructed. “We want to show you some of our equipment.” She and Matt unlocked the shed and went inside.

  Not far away, Hollis McKnight and Mary England were in a heated conversation.

  “What do you suppose that’s all about?” Henry wondered aloud.

  “Why is Mary’s hair all messed up?” Benny asked. “She looks like she’d always be combed. Not like me.”