The Sea Turtle Mystery

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “Slow down, Fischer!” Mr. Chatman yelled, shaking his fist at the truck. “Did you see that?” he said to the crowd. “He almost ran over the nest!”

  “Does he know there are giant sea turtles here?” Jessie asked.

  Mr. Chatman’s face was turning very red. “Of course he does! And he knows it’s nesting season. Everyone is supposed to slow down, but he never follows the speed limits.”

  Violet wanted to know more about the turtle, and even though the man did not seem very friendly, he did seem to know about the animals. “Do you know what kind of turtle this is, Mr. Chatman?” she asked.

  “Of course I do,” the man said. “Didn’t you hear me say I’m a turtle expert?” He waved his hand toward the turtle. “This is called a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, and it’s no giant. It’s actually the smallest type of sea turtle. But it is much bigger than most land turtles.”

  Other people in the crowd began to ask questions, which seemed to annoy Mr. Chatman, but he gave good answers.

  “I guess he really is a turtle expert,” Jessie whispered to her brothers and sister.

  “A cranky one!” said Benny.

  “Here comes another vehicle,” said Henry.

  “It’s funny looking,” said Violet. “It doesn’t look big enough to be a real car.”

  “That is a utility vehicle, a UTV,” Mr. Chatman said. “They are good for getting around the island.”

  “Wow!” said Benny. “Is that a real park ranger inside?”

  The woman driving was wearing a khaki outfit and a ranger-style hat. Her shiny black hair was pulled into a bun. “She’s got a badge on,” said Henry. “She looks very official.”

  “That’s Ms. Thakur, the ranger I called,” said Mr. Chatman. He started waving and yelled, “Over here! Over here!”

  The woman stopped the UTV and got out, carrying a bag.

  Mr. Chatman kept shouting, even though Jessie didn’t think he needed to. The woman was coming toward them as fast as she could.

  When the ranger reached the scene, Mr. Chatman started telling her about the truck that had driven down the beach. “You should really have a talk with that Tommy Fischer,” he said.

  “I thought this was about a turtle, Mr. Chatman,” the ranger said.

  Mr. Chatman rolled his eyes. “It is, Ms. Thakur. I’m just filling you in on some important information. The turtle is right over there.”

  The ranger pulled a pair of rubber gloves out of the bag, put them on, and grabbed a short rope. She walked up to the turtle very slowly, knelt down, and placed the rope at the edge of the hole. The turtle didn’t seem to notice. Then Ms. Thakur moved away slowly.

  “Why did you put the rope there?” Violet asked.

  “It marks the nest,” said Ms. Thakur. “If I have to leave before she’s finished laying her eggs, I’ll know where the nest is when I come back.”

  Ms. Thakur walked over to Mr. Chatman. “Thank you for calling,” she said. “Have you thought about doing our Turtle Patrol training program?”

  “I don’t have time for any training,” Mr. Chatman said. “And I already know all about turtles. It would be a waste of my time.”

  The ranger raised an eyebrow. “You might be surprised at what you could learn,” she said.

  The man grumbled and went back to his van. Ms. Thakur turned to the Aldens. “I know Mr. Chatman. But I don’t believe I’ve met you children yet. Where are you from?”

  Henry told the ranger they were visiting from Connecticut. “We just got here. I can’t believe we were lucky enough to see a turtle right away!”

  “You’ve come at a good time of year,” Ms. Thakur said. “The females come ashore from April to June to nest. And here’s the most amazing part: they come back to the same beaches they were born on!”

  Violet looked at the turtle nestled down in the sand. She imagined it returning to this place years after it was born. The turtle had looked so lost coming out of the water. But now Violet saw that the animal knew exactly what it was doing.

  “I think she’s done laying her eggs,” said Ms. Thakur. “Now watch what she does next.”

  As the children watched, the turtle used her flippers to push sand on top of the eggs. Then she turned around and pulled herself slowly back toward the water. A wave caught the turtle, and within seconds, she had disappeared into the blue water.

  “See? She did such a good job covering up the nest, you can’t even tell she was here, except for the flipper marks and the rope sticking out.” Ms. Thakur went to her vehicle and grabbed a white container and brought it over to the nest. Then she did something Benny did not expect. She started digging up the nest!

  When the ranger had dug enough sand so that the eggs were visible, she carefully picked up each one and put it into the cooler. The children could see there was sand in the bottom of the cooler, which helped keep the eggs in place.

  “I thought they’d look like bird eggs,” Benny said. “These are round like ping-pong balls.”

  The ranger laughed. “You’re right. They do look like ping-pong balls.”

  “Why are you taking them away?” Violet asked. “Won’t the turtle come back to look for them?”

  “The mother doesn’t come back to the eggs,” the ranger explained. “Turtle eggs aren’t like bird eggs, where the parents keep them warm. The sand and the sun do that. The eggs hatch on their own, and the little turtles make their way to the ocean all by themselves.”

  The ranger sighed. “Well, that’s the way it’s supposed to happen. But these turtles are so endangered that it’s important for every egg to hatch. Very few Kemp’s ridley sea turtles live long enough to lay their own eggs.” She picked up the last egg, placed it in the cooler, and put the lid on.

  “Coyotes, raccoons, and even crabs like to eat the eggs. And because vehicles are allowed to drive on the beach, sometimes the sand gets pushed down, and the hatchlings have trouble making it to the ocean. We bring the eggs to our facility so they can be protected until they hatch. Then we release them.”

  The ranger took out a marker and wrote on a label on the top of the cooler. “We keep track of the date and place we find each nest,” she said as she stood up. “Today has been a busy day. I’ve collected eggs from two other nests, and I had a call about one more.”

  She put the cooler back in her vehicle. “It’s not too far down the beach. Do you children want to watch me collect those eggs too?”

  The Aldens all agreed. They were curious to learn more about the turtles. The UTV went slowly, so the children didn’t have any trouble keeping up on foot.

  A couple hundred feet up the beach, the ranger stopped and got out. She looked around with a frown. “The nest is supposed to be right here,” she said. “But I don’t see the marker. There should be an orange flag.”

  “I see something orange over there,” Violet said, motioning toward the sand dunes. “It looks like a flag, but it isn’t stuck into the ground.”

  “That’s not good,” the ranger said, hurrying toward the dunes.

  The flag lay near a big hole in the sand, but there were no eggs inside.

  “Not again!” the ranger said. “They’re gone!”

  A Clue in the Night

  “What happened to the eggs?” Violet asked.

  The children gathered around the empty hole in the sand.

  “If an animal dug up the eggs, wouldn’t there be broken shells?” Henry asked.

  “That’s a good observation, Henry,” Ms. Thakur said. “Yes, I’m afraid a person dug this nest up.”

  “Why would someone do that?” asked Jessie.

  The ranger sighed. “To sell them, I’m afraid. Because these turtles are endangered, some people will pay a lot of money for the eggs. It’s illegal to take them, but poachers do it anyway.”

  Benny was confused. “What’s a poacher?”

  “It’s someone who takes something that doesn’t belong to them,” said Ms. Thakur. “We don’t usually have a poaching problem here,
but there have been a number of nests that have gone missing recently. Now I know someone is stealing them.”

  Ms. Thakur looked up and down the beach. “I don’t understand how the eggs disappeared so quickly. I got the call an hour ago that the nest had been marked. You didn’t see anyone doing anything suspicious, did you?”

  “No, we just saw people enjoying the beach,” Henry told her.

  “What about the man in the truck who was driving too fast?” Violet asked. “He went this way.”

  “Tommy Fischer?” Ms. Thakur said. “No…no, it couldn’t have been him.”

  Violet thought she sounded very sure about this.

  Suddenly the ranger seemed to remember something. “I’m sorry, children, I need to get back to the station.”

  “Don’t you want to try to figure out who did this?” asked Henry.

  “Yes…yes, of course,” said Ms. Thakur. “But I’m afraid I have other business to attend to.”

  “Is there anything we can do to help?” asked Jessie.

  “Well, if you’d like, you can stop by the station tomorrow,” Ms. Thakur said, getting back into her UTV. “If you don’t mind doing a little work on your vacation, you can become official helpers through our junior ranger program.”

  “Yes!” Violet said. “I want to do that!”

  “We’ll be there first thing in the morning,” Jessie added.

  “Good, good,” Ms. Thakur said. “See you tomorrow.”

  With that, Ms. Thakur drove off toward the ranger station. As the children watched the UTV go, Violet said, “I wish Ms. Thakur didn’t have to leave. I want to figure out who is taking these eggs.”

  “She did seem like she was in a hurry to leave after we found the nest,” said Henry. “I wonder if she knows more than she told us.”

  “I’m sure she has a lot to do,” said Jessie. “Remember how big and long this island is? That is a lot of land to help take care of.”

  “You’re right, Jessie,” said Henry. “Maybe we can help by figuring out what’s happening to the eggs on our own.”

  “A mystery!” said Benny. He looked all around. “But we need clues to solve a mystery. I don’t see any clues here.”

  “We need suspects too,” said Violet. “I don’t know why the ranger is so sure Mr. Fischer didn’t take the eggs. He didn’t seem to care much about the turtles the way he was driving.”

  “That was strange,” said Jessie. “We should keep an eye on him.”

  Henry pointed at a group of people sunbathing down the beach. “I have an idea. Whoever is taking the eggs will have to have something to put them in, like that cooler that Ms. Thakur had. We can look for people carrying big containers who don’t look like they are out to spend the day on the beach.”

  “That would be a good clue,” Jessie said. “Good thinking, Henry.” She noticed the sun was getting lower in the sky. “I didn’t realize we’d been gone so long. We should get back.”

  Back at the campsite, Grandfather was waiting. “Time for dinner,” he called as they walked up.

  Benny rubbed his stomach. “My tummy has been telling me that for hours.”

  “I was wondering when you’d get back,” Grandfather said. “I didn’t want to have a feast all by myself. The cooler is full.”

  Jessie opened the lid. “There’s enough food in there for dinner tonight and breakfast and lunch tomorrow,” Grandfather said.

  Watch wagged his tail. “There’s enough for dogs too,” Grandfather added.

  While Grandfather grilled hot dogs, Violet fed Watch. Henry and Jessie set out the rest of the food, and Benny told Grandfather all about their day.

  “I’m glad you got to see a turtle,” Grandfather said. “Though it’s troubling about the missing eggs. I suspect an animal is digging them up. A clutch of eggs would be a feast for a raccoon.”

  “I wish it was an animal,” Violet said. “Animals don’t know that these turtles are endangered. A person stealing the eggs would have to know.”

  “We think it has to be a person,” Jessie said. “The eggs were dug up so quickly, and there weren’t any broken shells around.”

  “We plan to keep a lookout tomorrow,” Henry said.

  “Well, if anyone can solve the mystery, it will be you four.” Grandfather picked up a hot dog with the tongs. “Who wants the first hot dog? Let me guess, Benny?”

  “Yes!” Benny said.

  After dishing up, the Aldens sat down on a blanket in the sand.

  “It’s nice eating dinner and watching the waves,” Violet said.

  “Especially when you have a feast!” said Benny.

  By the time the Aldens were finished eating and had cleaned up, the sun had set. Violet looked up at the night sky. “We must be able to see millions and millions of stars,” she said. “That’s one of the best parts about camping.”

  Grandfather got up. “Yes, it is, but I think I’ve seen enough stars for tonight. I’m ready for my nice comfortable bed. Tomorrow I’ll pick you up and take you out to dinner at a restaurant.

  “Have fun enjoying the beach tomorrow. I have my cell phone if you need anything.” He smiled. “I do have a little surprise. I’ve hired a man to teach you windsurfing. He’ll meet you at the campsite at two o’clock. The conditions here are supposed to be excellent for windsurfing.”

  “That will be terrific!” Henry said.

  “Yes, I’ve always wanted to learn,” said Jessie.

  After Grandfather left, the children stayed outside a while longer. Benny had a hard time keeping his eyes open. He leaned his head against Jessie. “The sound of the waves is making me sleepy,” he said.

  “Me too,” Jessie agreed. “I think we should all go to sleep.”

  The children got ready for bed and climbed into their sleeping bags. Benny was asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

  Sometime later, Benny woke up. At first he thought he was having a dream, but after a moment, he remembered where they were. Benny looked around. Everyone else was sleeping except Watch. He had his head up like he was listening for something. Benny didn’t hear anything strange, so he closed his eyes. Then Watch gave a small whine, and Benny opened his eyes again.

  “What is it, boy?” Benny whispered. “Remember, there is nothing here to be scared about.” Benny wasn’t so sure he believed that, but it felt better to say it.

  Outside, a dog barked. The sound made Benny jump.

  He got up and looked out of the door of the tent. The moon was bright. Benny could see a long way up and down the shoreline. At first he thought the beach was empty. Then he noticed two shapes moving along the water.

  As the pair got closer, Benny could see it was a person walking a dog. Benny thought it was a funny time for them to be out on the beach. The dog stopped to dig. Benny heard a woman’s voice say, “Good dog.”

  Watch poked his head out the tent and barked. The other dog started toward the tent like it wanted to come see Watch, but the person pulled the dog’s leash to make it walk with her down the beach.

  Benny tried to stay up until they moved out of sight, but the sound of the waves made him sleepy again. He zipped up the door of the tent and went back to his sleeping bag. Watch lay down next to him.

  Since Watch no longer seemed worried, Benny decided he wasn’t either. He closed his eyes.

  Real Writing, Real Clue

  The next time Benny opened his eyes, it was morning. Once again, no one else was awake except Watch.

  “Come on, Watch,” Benny whispered. “Let’s build a sandcastle while we wait for everyone to get up.”

  Benny quietly unzipped the tent door and went down to the water. As he worked on his castle, he kept checking the ocean to see if any turtles were coming out of the water. But this time none did.

  When the castle was almost finished, Jessie came out of the tent, yawning.

  Benny jumped up. “Let’s go see Ms. Thakur!” he called. “I want to learn how to be a junior ranger!”

  “It’s a little
early,” Jessie said, yawning again. “She’s probably not at work yet, and we need to eat breakfast. You’ll get hungry if we don’t.”

  The others got up too. Jessie set out some muffins, and they ate their breakfast and watched the birds on the beach.

  “I wish I knew the names of all these different kinds,” Violet said. “I forgot to bring my bird book.”

  All of a sudden, the birds scattered. The shaggy dog the Aldens had seen the day before came running down the beach, dragging his leash while he chased the birds. Today, Sandy had a purple bandanna around his neck instead of a red one. Martina, the dog’s owner, again came running after him. She was wearing a matching purple bandanna and carrying several beach bags.

  Martina caught up to Sandy as he was digging a hole in the sand. She grabbed his leash, but after only a few seconds seemed to forget about it. She dropped the leash as she searched through one of her bags. After a little while, Sandy took off running, chasing more birds. Jessie was about to call to Martina to tell her the dog was getting away when Martina noticed and ran after him.

  Seeing the two of them reminded Benny of the night before. Sandy was about the same size as the dog he had seen on the beach. But Sandy didn’t seem to be as well trained as that dog. Benny told the others what he had seen.

  When he was done, Violet asked, “Why would Martina walk her dog in the middle of the night? Do you think it might have something to do with the turtle eggs going missing?”

  “I don’t know,” said Henry. “From the way Mr. Chatman talked, Martina seems to be on the beach a lot.”

  “That’s true,” said Jessie. “But there are lots of reasons why she might be on the beach. It isn’t against the rules to be out at night.”

  Jessie’s words made Violet feel better. She hoped Sandy and Martina weren’t the ones taking the turtle eggs. But she knew she could not be sure. “I just wish Martina would keep hold of Sandy’s leash,” she said. “Who knows what he might get into when he’s running free.”

  The children walked to the ranger station. On the way, they passed Mr. Chatman. He was talking to a couple who were carrying beach chairs, lecturing them about the tides. Mr. Chatman glanced at the Aldens but acted like he didn’t recognize them.