Mystery on Blizzard Mountain Read Online Free PDF

out of the tires while he was doing his errands,” Henry said.
    “That’s right. He did other errands before he came to the diner. He could have done it then,” Violet recalled.
    “It wasn’t Bobcat!” Benny said, sounding almost angry.
    “Maybe not, Benny. I hope not,” Henry said. “But—”
    He didn’t have a chance to say more. Maris came through the woods toward them. “Let’s go,” she said. “I think I’ve found a nice little detour around these rocks.”
    The Aldens jumped up and shouldered their packs. Before they left, Maris made a mark on a tree, with an arrow beneath it. “So Bobcat can find us,” she said, “when he comes up the trail this afternoon.”
    The Aldens all looked at one another. They didn’t say anything. But they were all wondering the same thing.
    What if Bobcat didn’t come back at all?

CHAPTER 6
A Haunted Cabin?
    Later that afternoon, Violet stopped. “Look!” she said.
    Through the trees, they saw an old cabin.
    “That’s it,” Maris said. “We’re here.” She turned off the narrow, almost invisible path she’d been following and marking, and pushed her way through the bushes.
    “Too bad old Chuck didn’t know about this cabin when he broke his ankle,” she said as she led the way to the cabin. “He was just down the trail. He was in his tent and snug enough. But he’d have been much more comfortable in the old cabin.”
    The cabin sat on a small patch of level ground, its back almost against the side of the mountain. Wooden shutters were closed tightly against the one window, but the door sagged a little and piles of leaves, branches, and straw seemed to be about to crash down on them from the roof as they got closer.
    “It looks like a haunted cabin,” said Benny.
    “Not haunted. Just not used in a while. Bobcat and I did a few repairs a while back, but we haven’t been here in a long time.”
    She pushed open the door of the cabin and led the way inside. Clouds of dust rose around her feet.
    She sneezed. “Whew!” she said. “I don’t remember it being this dirty when I left. It’s almost like someone dumped a bucket of dirt in here.”
    “We can clean it up,” Violet said. “Don’t worry.”
    They dropped their packs on the rough bunk beds built along one wall. Maris put hers on the floor near the old woodstove.
    Benny found a rusty basin with a bucket next to it on a shelf beneath one of the two shuttered windows. “Is this for water?” he asked.
    “For washing dishes and your face,” said Maris. “It’s the cabin sink.”
    A rickety table and some stools stood near the stove. On the wall above the rusty basin was a small white metal cabinet. Beneath it, a row of tin cups hung from hooks.
    “Let’s get some wood for the stove,” Henry said.
    “Good idea,” agreed Maris. “Then we can have a nice fire going to cook our food when Bobcat gets here in a little while.”
    But although they kept the fire hot, the sun went down and no Bobcat showed up.
    “Maybe he’s lost,” said Benny, looking worried.
    “Not Bobcat,” said Maris. “He’s too good a woodsman for that. He probably didn’t make it down the trail in time to come back up tonight. I bet he’s camped at the lean-to. He’ll be here tomorrow.”
    No one said anything. Everyone wanted to believe that Bobcat was on his way but none of the Aldens could be sure of that.
    At last Violet said in a small voice, “What do we do about dinner?”
    “Well, we’ve got some oatmeal, don’t forget,” said Maris cheerfully “And I’ve got a few things in my tin cabinet over there.”
    She walked over to the cabinet. She peered inside. “We have a big metal canister of dried beans,” she reported. “And some rice in this metal box. And I think ... yes. Two packages of macaroni and cheese in this metal box. And a can of tomatoes! I’d forgotten about that!”
    “Why is everything in metal boxes?” Benny wanted to know.
    “This is my pest-proof food cabinet,” Maris