The Mystery at the Calgary Stampede (4 page)

Aunt Judy changed the subject. “What are
we
all
going to do tomorrow?” She looked
at Benny. “I have an idea,” she said. “Why
don’t we go to the mini tractor pull? I have a
feeling you—Benny, especially—will like it.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” said Grandfather.
“I’ll be busy tomorrow, but I’ll join you for
the Grandstand Show tomorrow night.”

Daisy looked miserable at the mention
of the show but the children gave a cheer.
“Grandfather, wait until you see Daisy
tap-dance,” said Jessie. “She’s amazing.”

Daisy was embarrassed by the praise, but
Aunt Judy spoke up. “Daisy has spent hours
and hours dancing and singing and learning
music. She homeschooled this past year to
make time for it all. I’m very proud of her.”
She gave her niece a hug.

“But I had stage fright tonight,” said Daisy.

“It happens,” said Aunt Judy. “Do you really
think I’ve never had stage fright? Trust me,
wearing a pin won’t make a difference.”

Daisy didn’t look so sure.

As the Aldens helped wash up, Aunt Judy
started to sing a funny song about a cow in
her soup as they worked. Once they learned
the song they all joined in. It felt good to
sing. Maybe, Violet thought, the people
who cleaned up after the flood sang while
they worked.

The Aldens shared a great big room to sleep,
with bunk beds built into the walls. They
liked that they could all be together and talk
after lights out.

Violet and Benny were getting sleepy when
Jessie spoke up. “You don’t think…” she
began but then hesitated.

“What?” asked Violet.

“I’m not sure I should even say what I’m
thinking,” Jessie went on. “But do you think
that maybe Aunt Judy took the pin? Just to
prove to Daisy that all her practicing would
pay off?”

“Oh,” said Benny, suddenly wide awake.

Violet cleared her throat. “Aunt Judy kept
changing the subject when Daisy talked
about the pin. She also said not to bother
calling the police yet. And I heard her say
that she was sure the pin will turn up when
Daisy told everyone it was missing. It seemed
like a strange thing for Aunt Judy to say. How
could she know for sure?”

“Maybe she just wanted to say something
that would make everybody calm down,”
Benny said.

Jessie nodded. “You are so wise, Benny.
That might be exactly right. What do you
think, Henry?” she asked.

Her older brother thought for a long
minute. “I think that you’re right that Aunt
Judy really wants Daisy to know she can
perform without a good luck charm…but I
don’t think she’d put Daisy through all this
worrying.”

“That doesn’t seem like something she’d
do,” said Benny.

“She’s too kind for that,” added Violet.

Jessie let out a breath of air. “I guess you’re
right,” she said.

The children thought about who else could
have taken the pin.

“What about Marian?” asked Jessie. “Her
face was so red when we talked to her.”

“There’s something she’s not telling us,”
said Henry.

“And there’s something strange about that
big old bag her grandfather—her poppa—carries.”

The others agreed.

From outside the open window came
a gust of cool air. The children snuggled
deeper under the fluffy blankets that Aunt
Judy had set out for them, and one by one
they drifted asleep.

T
he next morning, as the Aldens and Aunt
Judy set off in the minivan for Stampede
Park, the sky was blue and cloudless. The
children could see the dark shapes of the
Rocky Mountains to the west, but the sky
seemed to go on forever.

Daisy was very quiet when they picked her
up at her house.

As they drove through the neighborhoods,
the Aldens noticed all the front yards were
full of people. They saw tables and chairs set
up on one street, and they could smell maple
syrup and bacon through the open minivan
windows.

“There are lots of pancake breakfasts this
week,” Aunt Judy said. “It’s Calgary tradition
for churches and community centers to host
pancake breakfasts during the Stampede.
There are also lots of block parties.”

Violet saw a yard sale sign. “I like yard
sales,” she said. “I like to find books for my
library at home. I never know what I’m going
to find at a sale.” She wished she could say
something that would cheer up Daisy and
take her mind off the lost pin.

Aunt Judy seemed to notice Daisy’s mood
too. “You know,” she began, “when I was
young I lost something very special to me. I
never found it. It bothered me for a long time,
longer than it should have. I tried to distract
myself by thinking about other things…”

“Like cheesecake?” asked Daisy.

Aunt Judy smiled. “Like cheesecake. Or
like Violet’s yard sales. Or by remembering
to enjoy the day. I wish I could make you
forget the missing pin.”

The Aldens looked at one another. They
knew that Aunt Judy couldn’t have taken
the pin.

Soon they were outside the main gate of
Stampede Park.

“I have rehearsal,” said Daisy, as she stepped
out of the minivan. “But I’ll meet you all
for lunch.”

“Will we have strange food?” asked Benny.

“How about a bison smokie?” asked Daisy.

“That doesn’t sound strange, just
different…and good!” said Benny.

Daisy waved and headed through the gate
into the fairgrounds.

Aunt Judy handed Henry a map to
Stampede Park. “Your grandfather thought
you would enjoy having some time on your
own today. You can explore the park and go
on some rides on the midway.”

“What’s the midway?” asked Benny.

“At a fair, that’s the area where the food
stands and rides are located.” Aunt Judy
smiled. “My favorite was always the Skyride,
with the gondolas that glide right over the
grounds and you can watch people as you
swing through the air. I used to call it the
‘Spyride’ when I was young.”

“I like that name,” said Violet. “The
Spyride!”

Aunt Judy waved good-bye as the Aldens
climbed out of the minivan. “You have
fun on the rides. Don’t forget to check out
the mini tractor pull. Your grandfather
and I will meet you for dinner before the
Grandstand Show.”

“Okay,” Henry said as he studied the map.
“Let’s find the tractor pull. It looks like it’s in
this direction.” He led the way and the others
followed after him.

Violet looked up over their heads. “I want
to go on the Spyride before we head home,”
she said.

“Tractor pull first,” said Benny. “Spyride
later!”

The tractor pull was next to a huge painted
sign on the side of a trailer.
Kid Versus Machine
,
the sign read.

A man standing next to the sign waved
them over. “It’s the kids’ pedal tractor pull!”
he called out. He was wearing the skinniest
jeans Benny had ever seen, the biggest,
shiniest belt buckle and a cowboy hat of
course. “My name’s Allan, and this is my
assistant, Skippy, and we’re going to see to it
that you have the tractor pull best time ever!”

Benny looked at the tractors. They were
miniature tractors with bike pedals instead
of an engine. Benny really wanted to give
one a try.

“Pick me!” he asked the man. “Pick me!”
He couldn’t wait.

The man grinned. “Step right up, young
man, step right up. I’ll bet you had something
like a sugar sandwich for breakfast, and you’re
ready to race!”

Benny laughed.

“I want to race too!” came a squeaky voice
that the Aldens had heard before. It came
from Clay’s little sister.

Violet couldn’t help but stare at Little
Clay’s cowboy boots. They were purple!

Little Clay smiled shyly at her. “I saw you
watching the parade. I liked your purple
cowboy hat.”

Just then Skippy, Allan’s assistant, motioned
to Benny. “You’re on tractor number two in
lane two.”

Benny looked over to the track. At the end
of both lanes was a bright yellow ribbon that
declared Finish. Skippy had lined up the two
tractors, and a bigger boy was waiting in the
first lane. Hitched to the tractors were little
carts carrying big metal weights.

“Those are heavy,” said Skippy. “You’re
going to pull the weights to the end of your
lane all the way to the finish line.”

“The trick is
to not stop pedaling
,” Allan
told Benny. “Once you stop, starting to pedal
again will be almost impossible.” He raised
his voice so that all the folks in the audience
could hear. “We’re going to cheer really loudly
so these boys pedal as hard as they can!”

The crowd cheered. Almost everyone let
out a “Yee-haw!”

Violet saw Little Clay cross her arms tightly
as if to protect herself from the noise.

Benny climbed onto his tractor, and when
Allan shouted
“Go!”
he pushed at the pedals.
Getting the pedals going took a lot of effort,
and the bigger boy was already almost halfway
down his lane. But Benny was off, pushing
the pedals as hard as he could. The other boy
seemed to be slowing.

“Keep going!” shouted Benny. “We can do it!”

The boy looked at him in surprise and
paused. When he tried to get the tractor
started again, it was too late. Benny could
see that Allan was right:
if you stopped, you
couldn’t start again!
Benny took a deep breath
and pushed one foot down, then the other,
harder and harder. It felt as if the weights
were getting heavier, but he focused on the
pedals until he reached the yellow ribbon.

“You did it, Benny!” Henry came over to
high-five him. Jessie and Violet clapped their
hands in the air.

Little Clay and another girl were up next.

“Let’s have a hand for”—Allan bent
down to hear Little Clay whisper her name
to him—“Little Clay!” he called out. He
shook his head. “Is that your stage name?”
he asked jokingly.

A big smile came over Little Clay’s face.
“Yes, sir. That’s my stage name!”

He announced the other girl, and she and
Little Clay got on their tractors. Allan called
out
“Go!”
and off they went.

As the crowd cheered, a frightened look
came over Little Clay’s face. She turned to
look at all the people Jessie thought the little
girl might cry. Little Clay stopped pedaling,
and the other contestant pulled ahead, but
she didn’t quite reach the yellow ribbon when
she couldn’t pedal any farther.

Big Clay stepped out of the crowd. He went
over to his little sister and picked her up.

The Aldens could hear her from where
they stood. “All the people scared me,” she
said with her face tucked into his shoulder.

“Poor Little Clay,” Jessie said to her
brothers and sister. “I think the crowd was
too much for her.”

“It’s funny though,” said Violet. “When
she was on the covered wagon in the parade,
the crowd there didn’t seem to bother her.”

“But she had Big Clay beside her,” said
Jessie.

“Give a hand for Miss Purple Boots,” Allan
called out to the audience, “Also known as
Little Clay! She’s done good…Yee-haw!”

Everyone echoed “yee-haw” and clapped
for Little Clay. She looked up, gave a small
smile, and seemed a bit cheerier. But Jessie
could understand why a small girl—even one
who wanted to be a Young Canadian—could
feel a bit lost and frightened.

Just then Violet nudged her. “Look,” Violet
whispered. She pointed to her own collar and
nodded her head in Big Clay’s direction.

Jessie took a closer look at Big Clay just as
he and his little sister were walking off. There
was something shiny on his collar!

“Did you see that?” Violet whispered after
Big and Little Clay had gone.

“There’s
something
on Big Clay’s collar,”
said Jessie. “And it sure looks like Aunt
Judy’s pin!”

T
he Aldens waited to meet Daisy for lunch
at the bison-smokie stand.

“I’ve never had bison,” said Benny. “A
smokie’s like a hotdog, right?”

“A
super
hotdog,” said Henry. “It’s huge
and it has deluxe toppings like onions and
sauerkraut and different relishes.”

Jessie was thinking. “We’ll have to ask
Daisy if she saw Clay wearing the pin this
morning.”

“I’m positive it’s the same pin,” said Violet.
“But if he took it I don’t know why he’d wear
it for everyone to see.”

“I don’t like to think that one Young
Canadian would take something from
another,” said Jessie. “Let’s ask Daisy if she
knows anything about it.”

Benny saw Daisy walking toward the stand.
“There she is. That means we can eat.”

The others laughed. They each ordered
a bison smokie. Benny and Henry heaped
sauerkraut on their smokies, along with some
weird-smelling mustard that looked like mud.

“This is the best,” Benny said. The others
nodded, mouths too full to speak.