Free Great Bicycle Race Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page A

Mountain. This is a bike ride to raise money to help buy it.”
    “What’s going to happen to the mountain?” asked Violet.
    “A developer is trying to buy it,” said Thelma, wrinkling her nose as if the word had a bad smell. “Her name is May Whatney and she wants to buy Eagle Mountain, cut down most of the trees, and put in lots of roads and a golf course and a bunch of big houses. The present owner has always let the public hike through his property, but now he needs money and wants to sell Eagle Mountain to the highest bidder. If we can raise enough money, we might be able to convince the state to buy it and turn it into a wilderness park.”
    “How will the bike ride help?” Henry asked.
    “It’s a three-day ride. It starts at Eagle Mountain and it ends up at the state capitol. We’ll hold a rally on the steps of the capitol building and give the money we’ve raised to the governor,” Thelma said.
    “But how does that make money?” Jessie questioned.
    “Every rider will have to pay an entry fee and raise at least a dollar a mile for the trip,” Thelma went on. “The riders will ride a certain number of miles each day and camp each night at a camp set up by the volunteers. Tents and food have been donated by different organizations, but all the riders have to provide their own sleeping bag, clothes, and bike.”
    “Don’t forget the raffle!” Louis called from the back.
    “Right,” said Thelma. “For every five dollars over the minimum amount you raise, you get a raffle ticket with your name on it. At the end of the ride, there will be a drawing and one of the riders will win a custom-made Sergio Spokes titanium racing bike. The only rule is that you have to ride the whole way to be eligible for the raffle.”
    “Wow,” said Henry. “It sounds great.”
    Violet nodded, and Benny said, “I want to save the mountain.”
    “Where do we sign up?” asked Jessie.
    Thelma pulled a stack of papers from a drawer. “Here are the forms. Just fill them out and mail them in with the entry fee. You can hand in the money you raise on the day of the race or you can mail it in, too.”
    “Great,” said Henry.
    “Bike’s fixed,” said Louis, reappearing in the doorway with Henry’s bike.
    “That was fast,” said Jessie.
    “Practice,” said Louis. He smiled, revealing a chipped front tooth. “I’ll show you how to do it if you sign up for the race. Every bike rider should know how to fix a flat tire.”
    Benny gave a little skip of excitement. “This will be fun,” he declared. “We’ll ride for miles and miles and miles and camp out in tents and raise lots of money for the mountain and we’ll fix flat tires. I can hardly wait.”
    The other Aldens laughed. So did Thelma and Louis. “That’s the spirit,” Thelma said. “I can tell that this is going to be a great bike race.”
    “Sounds like a terrific idea,” said Grandfather later that night at dinner. “Eagle Mountain is a wonderful place. We used to go hiking there when I was a boy.”
    “I want to ride in the race, too,” said Soo Lee. “My dad says I’m an expert rider!” Soo Lee was a cousin of the Aldens. She lived in Greenfield with their uncle Joe and aunt Alice, who’d adopted her.
    The Aldens had been orphans, too. They’d lived in an old abandoned boxcar in the woods. That was where they had found their dog, Watch. And that was where their grandfather, who had been searching for his grandchildren, had found them. He’d taken them to live with him in his big old house in Greenfield and put the boxcar behind the house so they could visit it whenever they wanted.
    Now Soo Lee was spending the night at her cousins’ house, as she often did. Soo Lee and Violet were good friends, and she was sitting next to Violet at the dinner table. Mrs. McGregor, their housekeeper, had just finished serving them fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob.
    But Jessie was frowning. “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t