Mystery of the Star Ruby Read Free Page A

night!”
    “A flying saucer in North Carolina!” Sybil laughed.
    “We did see strange lights over the mountain,” Henry said. “They were round and kind of red.”
    “You don’t really believe in that stuff, do you?” Donald scoffed. When he picked up his cup, he spilled coffee on the front of his shirt.
    “You should dab water on that,” Jessie advised. “Coffee stains are hard to get out.”
    “It’s okay,” Donald said. “There’s a Laundromat here.” He looked up just as Cecil came over. “In fact,” Donald said, “I’d better go there now.” He hurried away.
    “Did you kids see the Brown Mountain Lights last night?” Cecil asked.
    “Is that what they’re called?” asked Henry. “What causes them?”
    “No one knows for sure, but scientists believe the lights are formed from a combination of gases in the rocks in Brown Mountain. People have seen those lights over the mountain for a hundred years,” Cecil said.
    “I didn’t see any lights last night,” Sybil said. “Did you, Jonathan?”
    “No, I was working on my lists last night,” he said.
    “Not everybody is lucky enough to see them,” said Cecil. “But they are more common this time of year on moonless nights.”
    Their waitress arrived with breakfast—“Gold Nugget” scrambled eggs, “Potato Pebble” fries, ham, and juice.
    Benny ate quickly. The mysterious lights were neat, but the idea of finding a Papa Bear ruby was even more exciting. He couldn’t wait to start!
    After breakfast, the children changed into old clothes and shoes and shouldered their backpacks. They met Grandfather in the Ruby Hollow Gem Museum.
    The glass cases displayed hundreds of gems and minerals.
    “I never knew there were so many different rocks.” Henry read the names aloud. “Hiddenite, epodite, obsidian, blue calcite, emerald, sapphire, garnet, quartz—”
    “Look at this.” Jessie pointed to a showcase of rubies. “This is how rubies look when they come out of the ground, with rock around them. And these rubies over here are cut out of the rock.”
    Brilliant red stones lay on white velvet, some faceted to catch the sun, some polished smooth as glass. One sparkling gem caught Violet’s eye.
    “A star ruby!” she exclaimed. “See the six rays? It does look like a star.”
    Benny was eager to find his own rubies. “Can we go now?” he asked.

    “Let’s hit the flume line!” Grandfather agreed.
    Outside, they took the path to the flume. Grandfather paid their entry fees and bought them each a five-dollar bucket and plastic containers for their findings.
    Jonathan and Sybil were already working on the flume. The kids found places between them.
    A few minutes later, Donald Hodge came down the path, pushing a wheelbarrow with six buckets. He squeezed between Grandfather and Violet, making everyone on the line adjust.
    Violet wondered why he just didn’t go to the end of the line. She noticed the dirt in his buckets was finer and darker than hers.
    “Your dirt looks different from mine,” she remarked.
    “I got enriched ore,” Donald said. “I don’t like messing with those native stone buckets. Mine are guaranteed to have some gems.”
    “Enriched buckets are also called ‘salted,’” Jonathan explained. “That means each bucket definitely has gems in it. They could have been spaded from any mine. The dirt is looser and easier to rinse. But native buckets only come from Ruby Hollow. The ore hasn’t been disturbed for thousands of years. That’s why we have to rinse so much.”
    “Some of the finest gems can be found in the native mine,” Sybil added. “But the buckets aren’t guaranteed. That’s what makes it fun—you never know what you’re going to find!”
    Benny had finished rinsing. He began sorting through his stones.
    “Is this a ruby?” he asked Jonathan, holding up a tiny pinkish stone.
    “Definitely. Put it in your plastic box so you don’t lose it.”
    “Oh, boy! I found a ruby!” Benny dumped