Read The Sleepy Hollow Mystery for Free Online Page B

superhero
costume. He led him to the sidewalk just as
the rider drew close. The rider pulled the
horse to a stop, reached under the cape and
took out a white pumpkin.
    The father of the little boy ran up and
grabbed his son, taking him away into the
crowd. Jessie looked around for a parent to
claim the little girl she held in her arms. She
heard a woman yelling, “Samantha! Where
are you!”
    “Mommy, I’m here,” the girl cried.
    Before Jessie could find the woman,
Violet said, “Uh-oh. I know what’s going to
happen.”
    The horseman raised the pumpkin up and
then tossed it toward them. The pumpkin hit
the ground right in front of Jessie and Violet.
It split open, and dark red liquid spattered
out. The rider kicked the horse again rode
away down a side street.
    The girl Jessie held screamed and began to
cry. Her mother came up and took her from
Jessie. “It’s okay,” the woman told the girl,
but she was crying too. “Thank you!” she
said to Jessie.
    A boy in a fireman costume held out his
hand. “I’m bleeding!”
    “No,” Benny said. “It’s just paint. See?”
Benny took his finger and wiped off a speck
of paint from the boy’s hand.
    “Are you all right?” Annika called as she
hurried over to them. She looked over her
shoulder and turned back to the Aldens. “The
mayor doesn’t look happy.”
    Henry turned to see a big man in a dark
suit stomping across the street toward them.
    The man stopped in front of Annika.
“How could you arrange a trick like that?” he
asked. “That is not the way to get business for
your tours. Look how you’ve frightened the
children with your stunts.”
    “It wasn’t me,” Annika protested. “I don’t
know who was riding that horse.”
    “You expect anyone to believe that?” The
mayor shook his finger at her. “I don’t want
anything like this happening again. If it does,
the town council might not let you use your
wagon after all.” He turned and walked away.
    Annika called after him. “It really wasn’t me!”
    The mayor didn’t respond.
    “What did he mean about the wagon?”
Jessie asked.
    “I had to get special permission from the
town council to use it in the woods. If the
council changes their mind, I’ll have to change
the whole tour. The wagon ride is one of the
best parts of it. I don’t know what to do.”
    “We have to find out who is playing these
tricks and make them stop,” Jessie said.
    “Let’s see if we can find any clues,” Henry
suggested. “I wish we had thought to run
after the horse to see where they went.”
    “I don’t think you’re going to find any
clues,” Annika said. “There won’t be any
footprints on the street to follow.”
    “You might be surprised,” Benny said.
“We’re good at finding clues.”
    The four of them walked to where they
had first seen the horse. They searched up
and down for anything that could be a clue.
The street was empty.
    They were ready to give up when Jessie
cried, “I found something!” She brushed her
finger across a lamppost. When she held it up,
they could see it was covered with something
black and glittering. “The horse must have
brushed against the post, and this is what
made it all shimmery.”
    Violet touched her sister’s finger. “It’s a
little sticky, like glitter glue.”
    Benny pointed at something on the street
a few feet away. “What’s that? He darted
forward and picked it up. “It’s a sugar cube,
like the ones we saw at the café.”
    “Why would anyone carry sugar cubes?”
Violet asked.
    “I don’t know, but it’s a clue,” Henry said.
“Let’s go tell Annika.”
    Before they could tell her, Margot came
rushing up. “I can’t believe I missed all that!
How exciting! I hope my boss got pictures
of it.”
    “Margot, it was terrible,” Annika said.
“The mayor thinks I arranged it. I told him I
didn’t, but I don’t think he believes me.”

    “Oh, don’t worry about the mayor.” Margot
smiled. “As soon as we win the contest,