The Mystery of the Monster Mountain - M. V. Carey [6]
Cousin Anna struck the table with her fist. “Enough!” she cried. “Tonight we have a party for my wedding and it will not be spoiled by a quarrel.”
An uncomfortable silence settled over the group. Jupe, casting about in his mind for some neutral subject of conversation, thought of the excavation he had noticed that afternoon behind the inn.
“Are you planning to build an addition to the inn?” he asked Anna. “Someone’s been digging out in back. Is it for a foundation for another building?”
“It will be a swimming pool,” said Havemeyer.
“Swimming pool?” Hans was startled. “You want a swimming pool here? It is cool for swimming.”
“It can get hot in the middle of the day,” said Havemeyer. “Of course, it’ll be a heated pool. When we advertise for the hikers, we can throw in not only nature’s unspoiled domain, but also a refreshing dip in the pool at the end of the day. We might even roof the pool over and use it during the winter. Imagine skiing and swimming on the same day!”
“You think big, don’t you?” said Mr. Jensen. There was a bite to his words that caught Jupe’s attention.
“Something bothering you?” asked Havemeyer.
Before Jensen could answer, there was a metallic clattering from the back of the inn, then the crash of a garbage can being overturned.
Havemeyer pushed back his chair and strode to the little closet under the stairs.
“Don’t!” shouted Smathers.
Havemeyer turned away from the closet. He had a sophisticated-looking gun in his hands.
“No, you won’t!” Mr. Smathers jumped up and raced for the kitchen.
“Stop that, Smathers!” Havemeyer hurried after the little man. Hans, Konrad, and the boys followed. They were in time to see Smathers snatch open the back door.
“Go away!” cried Smathers. “Hide! Keep away!”
Havemeyer seized Smathers by the arm and yanked the little man out of the way.
The boys had a fleeting glimpse of a large, dark shape fleeing toward the trees that edged the ski slope. Then Havemeyer was in the doorway. He threw up his gun and aimed. The gun made a little pinging noise.
“Blast!” said Havemeyer.
“Missed him, didn’t you?” exulted Mr. Smathers.
Havemeyer stepped back into the kitchen. “I ought to belt you!” he told Smathers.
Pete touched Jupe’s arm and headed for the living room.
“Did you see that gun?” whispered Pete before they returned to the dinner table.
Jupiter nodded. “A tranquilizer gun,” he said softly. “Odd. Why go after a bear with a tranquilizer gun when there’s a shotgun in the house?”
Chapter 3
The Night Prowler
JUPITER JONES WIGGLED his toes against the lining of his sleeping bag and stared into the darkness. “The Three Investigators have a case!” he said aloud.
Bob lay next to Jupe in the tent. He turned over and hoisted himself on one elbow.
“Do we get to hunt for Cousin Anna’s key after all?” he asked.
“No. Hans and Konrad talked to me after dinner. They want us to investigate Cousin Anna’s new husband. They are very uneasy about him.”
Next to Bob, Pete yawned loudly. “I’m a little uneasy about him myself,” he said.
“The guy’s gun-happy. I mean, all we were doing this afternoon was looking at the office and he practically threatened to shoot us.”
“And he used a tranquilizer gun to scare off a bear,” said Jupiter. “That makes no sense at all. Why would he even own a tranquilizer gun? But it isn’t the guns that are worrying Hans and Konrad, it’s the swimming-pool. They are afraid that their hard-working, practical cousin has married a man who’ll fritter away her money on silly projects. I think we must agree that a swimming pool will not be an asset to an inn with only three guest rooms. It couldn’t pay for itself.
“Hans and Konrad are also disturbed by the fact that Havemeyer has no job. They feel that a man his age should be working. While he was helping them move their things into the inn, he told them that he had inherited money from his family, and that he lived in Reno until he met Anna and decided to marry her. The red sports car in the parking lot is his, and it has Nevada plates, so that part of his story checks out.”
“What do we do?” asked