Mystery at Skeleton Point

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Book: Read Mystery at Skeleton Point for Free Online
Authors: Gertrude Chandler Warner
zipped everything up. Remember? I left the bike bag on the porch when we went out in the boat and picked it up when we got back.”
    Jessie had a suggestion. “Then the pictures must be out at Skeleton Point. We’ll look around when we go there this afternoon.”
    While Jessie ran into the drugstore to get the film, Henry took out the map Charlotte had given him. “Hilda’s studio is the next block over,” he said when Jessie came out again. “Let’s go see if she’s there.”
    When the children rang Hilda’s bell, no one answered. A sign with an arrow pointing to the back of the house read, STUDIO. The children walked along quietly, looking in the windows of the house to see if anyone was around. A sign on the garage door read, STUDIO CLOSED.
    Jessie cupped her hands over the tall windows of the studio. Then she waved for the other children to come over and look inside, too.
    “The Clover Dodge statue!” Violet whispered when she peeked in.
    Hilda was seated at a cluttered worktable facing away from the Aldens. The statue stood in the middle of the table. Also on the table were a life-sized skull and a skeleton of a hand. Hilda was bent over a large drawing pad, sketching a large stone arm that looked familiar to the Aldens.
    The children tiptoed away.
    “We have to decide what to do next,” Jessie said.
    “A book I noticed on a shelf in the studio gave me an idea,” Violet said. “The title was, Sculptures of Clover Dodge. It must be the name of the sculptor who made the statue. My idea is to go to the library and see if we can find out more about Clover Dodge.”
    “Good thinking,” Henry said. “One other thing. I didn’t get a real good look, but the stone arm Hilda had in there looked like the missing one from the angel statue.”
    Jessie checked her watch. “I know. Well, let’s get to the library like Violet suggested. It’s just down the street.”
    “Can Henry and I wait for you outside?” Benny asked when the children came to the town library.
    “Sure,” Violet said, setting off with Jessie. “We’ll be back in a while.”

    When the girls found the librarian, they handed him the piece of paper with the title of the art book they wanted. “My sister and I are interested in this book about a sculptor named Clover Dodge. The book isn’t on the shelf. Do you know when it’s due back?”
    “Clover Dodge?” the librarian asked. “Isn’t it funny how some books aren’t checked out for ages, then suddenly everybody wants them at the same time? Clover Dodge was a well-known sculptor at the turn of the last century. But her work disappeared, and people forgot about her.” The man checked the library computer. “I see one of our local artists, Hilda Stone, checked it out. It’s reserved for William Mason next, but I can reserve it for you after he brings it back.”
    “Hmm, no,” Jessie said. “Thank you anyway.”
    Minutes later, the girls met their brothers outside and told them what they had discovered.
    “Wow! So William is interested in Clover Dodge, too,” Jessie said. “I wonder if he and Hilda are up to something together with the statues.”
    “Let’s go back to the studio and find out what Hilda has to say,” said Jessie.
    The rest of the Aldens nodded in agreement. They were always ready for an investigation.
    Henry led the way. “While we’re walking, Benny can tell you what we discovered while you and Violet were in the library.”
    Benny couldn’t keep his secret another minute. “The scary rock with the door is called Dead Man’s Cave, only there aren’t any dead people in it,” he announced.
    Jessie’s and Violet’s eyebrows shot up.
    Henry grinned at the two girls. “Benny and I went to check old maps in the town hall. There are a couple small caves, not very deep ones, on Skeleton Point. One of them is called Dead Man’s Cave. The man we met at the general store works in the land records department. He said that a long time ago kids used to hike up

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