Clue in the Corn Maze Read Online Free PDF Page A

what you do. You’ve been with me almost twenty years, and I’ve never been unhappy with your work.”
    Mr. Sweeney looked away as though he were embarrassed by the compliment.
    “I know you wish I’d never started the King Corn Days Festival,” Ken continued. “I know you don’t like having all these strangers milling around. But I love the festival! I love planning a new maze each year. I love building it and caring for it and sharing my love of farming with all the people who come to see it.”
    Mr. Sweeney didn’t say anything.
    Ken took a slow, deep breath. “I won’t give up the festival, but I’ll see that these people don’t interfere with your work anymore. Okay, Jack?”
    Mr. Sweeney nodded. He put his hat back on his head. “I’d appreciate that,” he said as he walked away.

CHAPTER 5
The Argument
    “So, who’d like to go on a quick hayride before supper?” Ken asked after the last customer had gone home and the maze was closed for the day.
    “A hayride! Oh, boy!” Benny cried, jumping up and down.
    Ken led the Aldens back over to the barn. There was a large green tractor parked there. A trailer with bales of hay was hitched to the tractor.
    “Climb aboard!” Ken said.
    “Hey, this looks like fun!” Jessie said. She hopped up onto the trailer.
    “It sure does,” Violet agreed. “But where do we sit?”

    “On the hay,” Ken said with a laugh. “That’s why they call it a hayride.”
    The Aldens laughed, too.
    Grandfather helped Benny onto the trailer, then turned to Ken, who was climbing awkwardly onto the tractor seat. “Can I help you there, Ken?” Grandfather asked.
    “No, no,” Ken waved his hand. “I’m fine.” He started the tractor, and with a quick lurch, they were off.
    Ken drove the Aldens all around his property. It wasn’t a fast ride, but it was a lot of fun.
    “This land is really quite hilly,” Grandfather noted. “I always think of the Midwest as being flat.”
    “Parts of Iowa are flat, but we’ve got some gentle rolling hills around here,” Ken said with a smile. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
    “It sure is,” Grandfather agreed.
    Ken drove along the edge of his cornfield, then turned down a narrow, rutted road. The road led to the top of a ridge, then down to a small lake. Mr. Sweeney was sitting by the lake. As the group drew closer, they could see he was cutting pieces out of a newspaper.
    “Hey, Jack,” Ken said. “What are you doing?”
    Jack quickly gathered up the newspaper scraps. “I-I-I’m uh, just t-t-taking a little break,” he stammered. “I have a nephew who lives in California now, but he likes to keep up with the local sports coverage. So I’m clipping articles.”
    “Well, we won’t disturb you,” Ken said. He turned the tractor in a wide circle and drove back up the hill.
    When they got back to the utility barn, Ken parked the tractor.
    “Thank you for taking us on a hayride, Ken,” Jessie said.
    “You’re welcome, Jessie,” Ken replied. Then he and Grandfather went inside to start supper. The children decided to stay outside and look at the animals. Benny especially wanted to visit Sunny, the llama.
    While they were petting Sunny, Benny noticed a scrap from an empty feed bag lying on the ground. He picked it up.
    “Does anybody know where there’s a garbage can?” Benny asked.
    “There’s one over by Mr. Sweeney’s trailer,” Violet said, pointing.
    Benny skipped over to the garbage. He lifted the lid and was surprised to find the entire can full of empty toilet paper rolls and plastic wrapping from Softee brand toilet paper.
    “Hey, come look at this!” he called to the other kids.
    They came over and peered into the garbage can.
    “I wonder if all of this came from the toilet paper in the maze?” Jessie asked.
    “I bet it did,” Violet said. “Look!” She pointed to a cardboard roll that still had a little toilet paper attached to it. “This is the same swirly pattern we saw on the toilet paper we