The Mystery of the Monster Mountain - M. V. Carey [4]
Jupe did not enjoy being laughed at. He felt his face getting hot, and he scowled.
“No, no. Do not be angry,” said Anna. “I think you are a good detective. You are right. This room has been searched. My husband and I, we searched it.”
Jupiter waited, not speaking.
“You see,” said Anna, “I have lost a key. It is an important key and I must find it, so I looked everywhere.”
“Maybe we can help,” offered Pete. “At least, maybe Jupe can help. He’s very good at figuring out where people put things.”
“And we’re awfully good at searching,” added Bob. “Jupe, do you have one of our cards that you can give Miss Schmi … I mean, Mrs. Havemeyer?”
Jupiter was still slightly annoyed that Anna had laughed at him, but he took out his wallet and fingered through it until he found a card, which he handed to Anna. It read:
THE THREE INVESTIGATORS
“We Investigate Anything”
? ? ?
First Investigator — Jupiter Jones
Second Investigator — Peter Crenshaw
Records and Research — Bob Andrews
Anna looked at the card. “Very nice,” she said.
“Thank you,” said Jupiter stiffly. “We have an enviable record. We have succeeded in solving puzzles that have bewildered people far older than we. The question marks on the card symbolize the unknown, which we are always willing to pursue.”
Joe Havemeyer grinned at Hans. “Does he always talk that way?” he asked.
“You mean like a book?” said Hans. “Jupe reads all kinds of things, and he can find out what happens, sometimes, when no one else can tell. You let Jupe look for your key and he will find it.”
“That’s very kind,” said Joe Havemeyer, “but I don’t think we need a firm of junior-grade detectives to find a missing key. It’s here, so it’s bound to turn up.”
Without a word, Anna handed the card back to Jupe.
“Very well,” said Jupe. “The key probably will turn up. In the meantime, we had better be moving. It gets dark early on this side of the Sierras and we want to get to the campground and pitch our tent while we can still see what we’re doing.”
“We go, too,” said Hans. “In a little while we can come back and visit some more, huh?”
“Oh, no!” said Joe Havemeyer heartily. “Anna, we didn’t have a wedding celebration. Now that your cousins are here, why don’t we have a party? And Hans and Konrad don’t have to camp out. We’ve got an empty room. They can stay with us.”
Anna appeared startled at the idea, and Hans, who was watching her face, began to object. Konrad quickly interrupted his brother. “It will be a good idea for us to be here,” he said firmly. “Anna’s father is dead.”
“Yes, Anna told me,” said Joe Havemeyer. “What about it?”
“So she has no father to watch out for her,” Konrad went on. “We are her only family here, and some relative should speak for Anna.”
He turned to his cousin and said something in German.
“We speak English, please,” Anna snapped. “Also, if you want to speak with Joe about me, you should have done it before we got married. That is the proper time.”
“But Anna, you did not tell us you would be married,” said Konrad reasonably.
“There is no need to tell you. There is no need to worry. Joe has a good income.
And he will stay here in Sky Village and help me run my inn. In the winter he will manage the ski lift. It is all decided and it is not your place to make speeches.”
Konrad turned red and lapsed into silence. Joe Havemeyer made soothing sounds to Anna. She went off to the kitchen with her groceries, and she did not look at either of her cousins as she left the room.
“I think we should leave,” said Hans sadly.
“Come on, now,” said Havemeyer. “Don’t take it seriously. Anna’s got a quick temper but by dinnertime she’ll be her usual cheerful self again. I know she’s glad to see you. She’s told me a lot about you. It’s only that she’s proud of being independent. She didn’t like it when you acted like a heavy male relative.”
Konrad rubbed his hand across his face. “I am stupid,” he said. “It is that I have not seen Anna since she was so young, and suddenly