The Mystery of Monster Mountain - Carey M. V. - Страница 3

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• 3/23
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Konrad said something in German and patted June.

Instantly, Anna’s smile vanished. “We will speak English,” she said.

Again Konrad spoke in German.

“I know,” said Anna. “It is more like home if we speak German, but we will speak English, if you please.” She went to the man who still stood near the stairs and put her arm through his. “My husband does not speak German. We will not be rude to him.”

“Your husband?” said Konrad.

“Anna!” exclaimed Hans. “When did you —”

“Last week,” said the man. “Anna and I were married in Lake Tahoe last week. My name’s Joe Havemeyer.”

There was a moment of stunned silence. Then, “So that’s Cousin Anna’s surprise!” said Pete.

Anna laughed. Hans and Konrad hugged her and wished her well, and she showed them her wedding ring — a plain band of gold that fit loosely on the third finger of her left hand. Joe Havemeyer accepted the brothers’ congratulations.

Jupiter Jones hated unfinished business and unsolved mysteries. He waited until the laughter and the exclamations had run their course, then stepped into the office of Anna’s little inn and beckoned Anna to follow him.

“Look,” he said, waving a hand at the jumble of papers scattered on the floor. “Someone must have come in while you were away and searched this room. You may want to call the police, or —”

Cousin Anna laughed. “Oh, that is funny. Hans and Konrad have written that you are a detective. That is very funny.”

Jupe did not enjoy being laughed at. He felt his face getting hot, and he scowled.

“No, no. Do not be angry,” said Anna. “I think you are a good detective. You are right. This room has been searched. My husband and I, we searched it.”

Jupiter waited, not speaking.

“You see,” said Anna, “I have lost a key. It is an important key and I must find it, so I looked everywhere.”

“Maybe we can help,” offered Pete. “At least, maybe Jupe can help. He’s very good at figuring out where people put things.”

“And we’re awfully good at searching,” added Bob. “Jupe, do you have one of our cards that you can give Miss Schmi… I mean, Mrs. Havemeyer?”

Jupiter was still slightly annoyed that Anna had laughed at him, but he took out his wallet and fingered through it until he found a card, which he handed to Anna. It read:

Anna looked at the card. “Very nice,” she said.

“Thank you,” said Jupiter stiffly. “We have an enviable record. We have succeeded in solving puzzles that have bewildered people far older than we. The question marks on the card symbolize the unknown, which we are always willing to pursue.”

Joe Havemeyer grinned at Hans. “Does he always talk that way?” he asked.

 “You mean like a book?” said Hans. “Jupe reads all kinds of things, and he can find out what happens, sometimes, when no one else can tell. You let Jupe look for your key and he will find it.”

“That’s very kind,” said Joe Havemeyer, “but I don’t think we need a firm of junior-grade detectives to find a missing key. It’s here, so it’s bound to turn up.”

Without a word, Anna handed the card back to Jupe.

“Very well,” said Jupe. “The key probably will turn up. In the meantime, we had better be moving. It gets dark early on this side of the Sierras and we want to get to the campground and pitch our tent while we can still see what we’re doing.”

“We go, too,” said Hans. “In a little while we can come back and visit some more, huh?”

“Oh, no!” said Joe Havemeyer heartily. “Anna, we didn’t have a wedding celebration. Now that your cousins are here, why don’t we have a party? And Hans and Konrad don’t have to camp out. We’ve got an empty room. They can stay with us.”

Anna appeared startled at the idea, and Hans, who was watching her face, began to object. Konrad quickly interrupted his brother. “It will be a good idea for us to be here,” he said firmly. “Anna’s father is dead.”

“Yes, Anna told me,” said Joe Havemeyer. “What about it?”

“So she has no father to watch out for her,” Konrad went on. “We are her only family here, and some relative should speak for Anna.”

He turned to his cousin and said something in German.

“We speak English, please,” Anna snapped. “Also, if you want to speak with Joe about me, you should have done it before we got married. That is the proper time.”

“But Anna, you did not tell us you would be married,” said Konrad reasonably.

“There is no need to tell you. There is no need to worry. Joe has a good income. And he will stay here in Sky Village and help me run my inn. In the winter he will manage the ski lift. It is all decided and it is not your place to make speeches.”

Konrad turned red and lapsed into silence. Joe Havemeyer made soothing sounds to Anna. She went off to the kitchen with her groceries, and she did not look at either of her cousins as she left the room.

“I think we should leave,” said Hans sadly. “Come on, now,” said Havemeyer. “Don’t take it seriously. Anna’s got a quick temper but by dinnertime she’ll be her usual cheerful self again. I know she’s glad to see you. She’s told me a lot about you. It’s only that she’s proud of being independent. She didn’t like it when you acted like a heavy male relative.”

Konrad rubbed his hand across his face. “I am stupid,” he said. “It is that I have not seen Anna since she was so young, and suddenly I think I am her father, huh?”

“That’s it exactly,” said Havemeyer. “It’ll be all right. You’ll see.”

Havemeyer was right. By dinnertime, Hans and Konrad had moved their luggage into the big square room on the north side of the inn. Since there were only four bedrooms in the place, and since two were already occupied by paying guests, The Three Investigators pitched their tent under the pines on the right side of the house, to the north. Joe Havemeyer had insisted on this. The stream that ran through the campground was low, he told them, because there had been very little snow and rain during the year. The boys would be better off if they stayed close to Anna’s little inn — and a reliable source of water. Havemeyer also insisted that the boys join them for dinner that night. The two paying guests would have to be included in the family party, said Havemeyer, but he wouldn’t let Mr. Jensen and Mr. Smathers spoil things.

The boys met Mr. Jensen and Mr. Smathers just before dinner. Mr. Smathers was a skinny little man who might have been fifty and who might have been older. He wore shorts and had hiking boots that laced almost to his knobby knees. Mr. Jensen was younger and taller and heavier, with close-cropped brown hair and a face that was homely but not unpleasant.

When Anna carried the roast in from the kitchen, Mr. Smathers made disapproving sounds with his tongue, then said, “Beef!”

“No lectures, please,” said Mr. Jensen. “I’m very fond of roast beef and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make me feel like a murderer every time I pick up a fork.”

“Animals are our friends,” said Mr. Smathers. His watery blue eyes were fixed on Mr. Jensen. “Friends do not eat one another.”

Anna had plainly regained her good humor. She smiled at Smathers. “I did not know the cow who was kind enough to provide our dinner. Let us not worry for him, since now he is at least not unhappy.”

“Cows are female,” Smathers pointed out.

“That is of importance only to the cow. For you I have creamed spinach and raw carrots and alfalfa sprouts.”

“Excellent.” Mr. Smathers tucked his napkin into his shirt front and prepared to enjoy his vegetarian dinner, while Mr. Jensen watched Joe Havemeyer carve the roast.

“Ever think of serving venison in season?” Jensen wanted to know. “I got a couple of good shots of deer on the road to Bishop this afternoon.”

 “Shots?” echoed Bob. “Mr. Jensen is a carnivorous animal,” said Smathers. “He would gladly shoot deer with a gun if it weren’t against the law. Fortunately it is against the law, so Mr. Jensen does his shooting with a camera.”

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