Summer Camp Mystery (2 page)

“Oh, I know lots of sailor knots,” Henry explained. “But I don’t want to get in your way.”

Mr. Pines turned to the boy on the ferry. “Zach, go tie that rope good and tight.”

The boy stepped down on the dock. “Sure thing, Dad.” The boy, tall like his father, wound the rope around the dock piling.

“Now go help Kim bring up the luggage,” the man told his son before turning to the girl. “Lizzie, stay onboard. Zach and Kim will bring up the trunks and duffel bags. Push them under the seats so the weight’s even all around.”

Zach joined the Junior Counselor who had been collecting the campers’ trunks. Together, they began to load the luggage onto the ferry.

The Aldens wanted to help, but they held back. They didn’t want the man to scold them the way he had yelled at Henry.

Mr. Alden stepped forward. He studied the man’s face before speaking. “Glad to meet you, sir. I’m James Alden. My grandchildren will be staying at Camp Seagull. We’d be glad to lend a hand.”

The boatman stared at Mr. Alden for a few seconds. “My children, Zach and Lizzie, are stronger than they look. They know more than anyone here about what needs to be done.”

The Aldens stepped away. They found a nearby dune to sit on while they waited for the ferry to be ready.

A few minutes later, a van pulled up. The door opened. A short-haired woman with a big smile stepped out of the van, holding a clipboard. “Mr. Alden!” the woman said. She put out her hand. “Ginny Gullen. Remember me? Of course, I was Ginny Shore way back when I worked at the Dark Harbor Inn. You visited every summer. I remember how you enjoyed having your morning coffee on the porch.”

Mr. Alden broke into a big smile. “Virginia Shore! My, my, you’re all grown up now. It took a few minutes to connect the face with the name. I’ve spoken on the phone with your husband, Rich, to make the arrangements for my grandchildren. They’re so happy you were able to find spots for them in camp at the last minute.”

The Aldens noticed that Mr. Pines and his children frowned when Grandfather said this.

Ginny turned to the Alden children. “Let me guess. Henry, Jessie, Violet. And you’re Benny, right?”

“Right,” Benny said proudly.

Ginny waved over Zach Pines. He put down the duffel bags he was carrying. “Come meet the Aldens, Zach,” Ginny said. “Here are Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. Everybody, meet Zach Pines. His father, Booth, is our ferry pilot and our all-around groundskeeper and assistant. Zach’s sister, Lizzie, is also a camper. They live in Dark Harbor now, but they practically grew up on Claw Island. These two know Camp Seagull inside and out.”

The Aldens crowded around Zach Pines like a flock of birds. When they noticed Zach seemed shy because of all the attention, they stepped back a little.

Ginny smoothed things over in her cheery way. “Thanks to you, Henry, Zach won’t have to run the Flag Ceremony twice a day. He’s been doing that since before Rich and I took over,” Ginny informed the Aldens. “Now he doesn’t have to rush in the morning and after dinner.”

“Ginny asked me to pack my bugle,” Henry proudly told Zach. “I learned to play it for flag raising in the Scouts.”

Zach didn’t say anything. He looked as if he wanted to escape the five pairs of eyes fixed on him. “My father needs me now,” Zach said before sprinting off to the dock.

“I don’t know what Rich and I would do without the Pines family,” Ginny said. “I do want Zach and Lizzie to enjoy camp as much as the other campers. Booth is a good father, but he’s very serious. He sometimes forgets to let the children relax and have fun.” She turned to Henry and Jessie. “I’ve assigned some of Zach and Lizzie’s responsibilities to both of you. I’d like them to have some more free time to take part in camp activities.”

“Are they overnight campers?” Jessie asked.

Ginny frowned. “I’m afraid not. Rich and I didn’t have any more cabin spaces for overnight campers. Zach and Lizzie are day campers. Still, I want them to have a great time, just like everyone else. I’m dividing up some of the chores Booth has given them and assigning them to Junior Counselors like yourselves. In fact, you can go help them load the ferry right now.”

Henry and Jessie stared at each other.

“Ummm . . . we tried to help,” Henry said, “but Mr. Pines said he didn’t want any new kids slowing things up.”

“The other Junior Counselor who’s helping out said we have to have special training first,” Jessie added.

Ginny’s smile froze for a second. “Oh, dear. Let me speak to Booth. He’s used to doing things his way. I suppose he didn’t want any new campers underfoot yet. But your grandfather told my husband what careful, hard workers you are. As for Kim Waters, I sent her over from camp to greet the new campers. I better straighten things out now that I’m here.”

The Aldens overheard Ginny talking to Mr. Pines. “Booth, I have two strong helpers here — Henry and Jessie Alden,” she said to the boatman.

Kim came over to Ginny. “Hi, Ginny. We still have some more trunks and duffels to get on the ferry.”

Ginny had a different idea. “Kim, loading bags isn’t what I had in mind for you. I sent you over to welcome the new campers and make them feel at home. I’d like the Aldens to meet you. This is Kim Waters. Kim, meet Mr. Alden and his grandchildren Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny. Henry and Jessie are Junior Counselors like you. Violet’s one of our overnight campers. And Benny is a day camper.”

The girl nodded but didn’t say anything even after the Aldens said hello. Instead she turned to Ginny. “I have to finish helping Boo — I mean, Mr. Pines. I know where everything goes,” the girl said. “The new campers are still with their families.”

“Please attend to the campers,” Ginny reminded Kim.

Finally Kim took a whistle from her pocket and blew it. “Campers, over here! The ferry’s about to leave. Let’s move it!”

Ginny sighed. “Gentle with the new campers, Kim. They’re nervous about leaving their families. You know what? Finish loading the luggage after all. The Aldens can help board the campers.”

“Fine with me. That’s what I wanted to do anyway,” Kim said before heading to the ferry.

Henry and Jessie rounded up the campers. They led them to the boat, talking to them gently so they would look forward to their ferry trip to camp.

“Greetings, Seagulls!” Ginny began, smiling at the children gathered near the dock. “Welcome to Camp Seagull. I’m Ginny Gullen. I’m so glad to meet you at last. We have three Junior Counselors here: Henry and Jessie Alden — and that’s Kim Waters over there. Kim is a fifth-year Seagull camper. Now she’s a Junior Counselor, too. She’ll make sure your luggage gets on board safe and sound.”

Henry and Jessie stood aside as the new and old campers said good-bye to their families.

Ginny checked off the children’s names. “Mr. Pines is our ferry pilot. He’ll bring us out to the island. When we arrive, we’ll all gather by the flagpole in front of Evergreen Lodge. Parents and grandparents, please meet your day campers at seven-thirty tonight right here. That’s when the ferry brings them back after Flag Ceremony. Now it’s time for good-bye hugs, everyone!”

Mr. Alden put his hand on Benny’s shoulder. “I’ll be right by the dock when the ferry comes in this evening, Benny.”

Grandfather turned to Violet. “Enjoy your stay. If you think of your lonesome grandfather when you’re in arts and crafts, I could use another leather change purse or a new coffee mug.”

Violet hugged Grandfather. “I’ll make you something special.”

“And keep an eye on Henry and Jessie,” Grandfather told Violet and Benny. “Make sure they have fun. Being Junior Counselors isn’t all work.”

“You know us, Grandfather,” Henry said. “Work is fun for us.”

The four Aldens were the last campers to board. “ ’Bye, Grandfather,” they called out.

Raaaangh!
the horn screamed. The ferry pulled away from the dock.

Everyone turned to wave to the families onshore.

That’s when Jessie spotted something on the beach that wasn’t supposed to be there. She turned to Henry. “Look!” she whispered. “Our trunks are still on the beach — off to the side. See? Kim told me she’d take care of them.”

Henry smacked his forehead. “Oh, no!”

Jessie rolled her eyes. “Let’s not bother Ginny right now,” she whispered. “She’s busy. After all, we’re Junior Counselors. We’re supposed to know better.”

“When we get to camp, I’ll ask Ginny if Mr. Pines can safely store our trunks tonight when he drops off the day campers,” Jessie said. “Maybe he can bring them out in the morning.”

This was too much for Kim Waters, who overheard Jessie. “This is the first day of camp,” she said. “The Gullens and Boo have a lot of jobs at the camp. They don’t have time to make special trips to Dark Harbor all because people leave their things behind.”

“But when I wanted to help with the trunks, you told me . . . ” Jessie stopped. “Never mind. We’ll be more careful next time.”

When the Aldens looked back at the beach, the fog had swallowed it up along with their three camp trunks.

Just as Booth Pines guided the passenger ferry across the water, the fog lifted. Grandfather Alden had been right. Up ahead, a very pretty sight appeared: Claw Island sparkled in the water.

From the boat, the Aldens could see cozy wooden buildings tucked into groves of tall pine trees. A flagpole rose above the large main building.

Jessie grabbed Henry’s arm. “The island is so close. I wonder if we could swim between Dark Harbor and Claw Island. After all, we just passed our lifesaving test at the Greenfield Pool.”

“You’re not allowed,” Zach Pines told Jessie. “There are strong currents between the island and Dark Harbor. You could get sucked out to sea.”

When some of the younger children heard this, they moved closer to Henry and Jessie.

“Oh, I was just wondering, that’s all,” Jessie said. She turned to some of the younger children. “My counselor manual said the swimming lessons are given on the bay side of the island. The water is warm and calm there — like a lake.”

“Look, a whale!” Benny cried. He pointed to something wide, smooth, and gray off in the water not too far from Claw Island.

The campers swiveled around to see the whale.

“That’s Monster Rock, not a whale,” Lizzie Pines informed Benny. “When it gets dark, the rock can turn into a monster that comes out of the water. Sometimes we even find giant footprints in the sand.”

“Goodness, this isn’t the time for that old made-up tale, Lizzie!” Ginny said when she noticed the worried looks of some of the new campers. “Actually, children, that’s Seal Rock. Often, if the sun is out and the tide is low, seals climb onto the rock to sun themselves.”

With the fog and Monster Rock behind them and Camp Seagull in front of them, the campers had a hard time sitting still. Camp was about to begin!

Onshore, a circle of campers who had arrived earlier stood around the flagpole. Behind them a group of teenagers and young adults waved their Senior and Junior Counselor caps at everyone on the ferry.

“Welcome, Seagulls!” the flagpole crowd yelled out. “Give us a seagull squawk!”

The new campers weren’t sure what to do.

“Go ahead,” Ginny urged everyone.

“Crawk! Crawk!”
the campers screamed out like a flock of seagulls about to land on Claw Island.

“The camp is so pretty,” Violet said when she stepped onto the dock. “Evergreen Lodge looks just the way I pictured — with porches and big windows looking out on the bay.”

“You know,” Benny said, “Claw Island doesn’t look a bit like a scary lobster claw.”

“That’s only on a map, Benny,” Violet said, laughing. “Or if you’re a bird looking down.”

Ginny waved the campers toward the flagpole group. “There’s my husband, Rich.”

Rich and Ginny Gullen wore identical CAMP SEAGULL DIRECTOR shirts and nearly identical friendly smiles.

“Greetings,” Rich began. “Welcome to Camp Seagull. Hope you had a smooth ride over. Ginny and I are happy to welcome you to our first season as directors of Camp Seagull. The camp has been around since Ginny and I grew up in Dark Harbor. Both of us worked here when we weren’t much older than most of you.”

Ginny looked around at the campers. “I know some of your parents were once campers here. We’ve kept up many of the traditions the Pines family started in the past. And we’ve added a few of our own.”

The Aldens noticed Mr. Pines and his children didn’t seem in a hurry to join the group.

“Is Mr. Pines related to the family that owned the camp?” Jessie asked Kim in a whisper.

“Yes,” Kim whispered back. “But he doesn’t mention it. His family had to give up the camp. Now he has to work for Rich and Ginny. They changed everything from before.”

“Do you still have Dress Your Favorite Fruit Night?” a girl camper asked Rich.

Rich grinned. “At Camp Seagull we even dress up vegetables! Our campers last session voted to have a Dress Your Favorite Vegetable Night. We’ve added new activities like that. But it’s still the same special place it’s always been. Now Ginny will tell you all about the Camp Seagull Olympics.”

“Okay, campers. Let’s start by lining up,” Ginny began. She picked up a big blue bowl. “Come and choose a surprise from this bowl.”

Benny tried to peek over the rim of the bowl. “Is it a snack?”

Ginny held the bowl out for Benny. “You’ll see.”

Benny reached in. “It’s a little dolphin.” He showed Violet the small plastic animal.

“I picked a seal,” she said.

“I got a dolphin,” Jessie said after her turn. “So did Henry.”

When the bowl was empty, Ginny looked around at all the campers. “During your stay, you’ll either be on a dolphin or a seal team, depending on the animal you chose. Half our cabins are Dolphin cabins, and half are Seal cabins. Even day campers have a cabin to spend time in during the day. As for you overnight campers, after our first Flag Ceremony, Mr. Pines will move your trunks and duffels to your cabins.”

“Except yours,” Zach muttered before stepping away from Henry.

Ginny waited for the campers to settle down. “Here’s how our Olympics work. Dolphins and Seals try to get points for our activities and events, as well as for doing good things around camp.”