“You were listening at our door the night Miss Parker came to us with her letter,” Jessie said to Howie.
Howie didn’t deny it. “I saw Miss Parker go into Jessie and Violet’s room. Then the Wilsons rang for extra ice. The night clerk came upstairs to tell me. I fetched the ice, then went back to the Aldens’ door. I heard Miss Parker say something about a letter and ‘change his luck.’ When she left, I hid behind the drapes.”
Violet nodded. “I saw the Wilsons’ door close. But I was sure I heard someone outside our door, too.”
“You stole the letter as well?” Grandfather asked the bellhop.
“From Miss Parker’s bag,” Howie said. Now he really sounded regretful. “When you were all in the lobby. Now I knew the Four Rock Miners’ things would change my luck. But I didn’t have the scrapbook!”
“It turned out the scrapbook wasn’t the thing that would change your luck,” said Henry. “But it did have a clue.”
“The photo that fell out,” Jessie put in. “You picked it up for me and read what was on the back, didn’t you?”
Howie nodded. “The raven was probably the luckiest of the two things, but I still didn’t know how lucky. It was just an old soapstone carving. I planned to leave it in the totem pole till you guys went home.”
By now Gil had cleaned off a large section. The feet and lower body were a beautiful golden yellow. “Looks like the Four Rock Miners had the last laugh on everyone.”
The hotel manager took Howie away while he called the police. The glance Howie threw over his shoulder at them showed he was sorry.
“Howie’s going to be somebody, all right,” said Steve.
Mr. Pittman held the raven. “Looks like we have a decision to make. Do we sell the statue?”
Jennifer and Steve glanced at each other. “We could sure use the money, just starting out,” Jennifer said. “But it’s such a romantic, fascinating story. If we sell it, we wouldn’t be doing what the Four Rock Miners would have wanted.”
“Those people are long dead,” dismissed Earl Pittman. “This is quite a chunk of gold. Imagine the money it’ll bring!”
“I’m far from rich, but I have everything I need,” Miss Parker admitted. “What has changed, except we now have a gold statue?”
Grandfather cleared his throat. “Very well put, Miss Parker. I suggest we leave the items to one of the museums here. As Jennifer said, it’s a romantic and fascinating story. Let’s share it with the world.”
Mr. Pittman sighed. “Okay.”
The next day, a newspaper reporter came over and took their pictures. The Alden children were interviewed about the mystery and the grown-ups talked about the reunions.
A man from a museum came to claim the gold raven and scrapbook. He assured them the raven would be cleaned and the Four Rock Miners display would be a popular attraction.
“There’ll be a plaque by the display,” he said. “With all your names on it.”
“Even mine?” asked Benny.
The museum director smiled. “Even yours.”
Benny twirled around the totem pole. “Yippee! Now we’re all somebody!”
“We always have been,” said Grandfather. “Sometimes we just don’t realize it.”
“It’s been a great trip,” said Jessie. “But we’d better go pack.”
They had a long journey home, but she was sure another mystery would be waiting for them!
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Illustrations by Charles Tang
Copyright © 1996 by Albert Whitman & Company
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