Mystery of the Star Ruby Read Free Page B

more dirt into his tray and began rinsing.
    Jessie watched how fast Jonathan and Sybil worked, rinsing, sorting, and selecting stones before emptying the rest of the tray into the dumping pile behind the flume.
    Donald Hodge worked even faster, but he dumped half a bucket of dirt into his tray at a time and didn’t rinse properly.
    “All I’ve found are a couple of puny sapphires!” he grumbled. “Cecil Knight ripped me off!”
    “Cecil is as honest as the day is long,” Sybil said loyally. “Maybe you should put a little less dirt into your tray.”
    “I don’t have all day” Donald said. “And it’s hot out here.”
    It was hot. Although the flume was shaded, panning was hot work.
    Finally, Donald threw his empty buckets into the wheelbarrow and left, disgusted that he hadn’t found a big stone.
    Jessie watched him leave. Boy , he really takes mining seriously ,she thought.
    “I guess Donald expects to find a Papa Bear ruby every day,” Sybil said. She eyed the dumping pile behind Donald’s place on the flume. “I bet there are good stones in his dirt that he missed.”
    Jonathan ruefully shook his plastic container. “I only found three Baby Bear rubies and a sapphire. Not even worth taking to the grading window.”
    After three hours, the Aldens had finished going through their buckets. Everyone trooped to the grading window at the jewelry shop to have their stones weighed and inspected. Several people fell in line behind them, including Sybil Finley.
    “Let’s see what you have,” the man at the counter told Benny, taking Benny’s plastic container. “Not bad—two Baby Bear rubies. Pretty good for a beginner.”
    Grandfather had some nice hiddenite. Henry and Jessie each had a couple of small sapphires and garnets.
    When it was Violet’s turn, she handed her plastic container across the counter.
    “I only found one,” she said. “I don’t think I’m a very good rock-finder.”
    The gem inspector peered at her stone through a special lens on his glasses.
    Then he smiled at Violet.
    “You’re a better rock-finder than you think!” he said.

CHAPTER 4
The Mixed-up Backpacks
    “What did I find?” Violet asked anxiously.
    The man at the grading counter held up her stone between his thumb and forefinger.
    “A very nice Mama Bear ruby,” he proclaimed. “I’d say it’s easily twenty carats.”
    “Wow!” exclaimed Benny.
    The gem inspector put the stone in the plastic container and returned it to Violet. “Congratulations, young lady. Let me know if you decide to have the stone cut and mounted in a ring.”
    “I will. Thanks.” Violet slipped the plastic container into her pink backpack. As she headed for the door, she noticed Sybil Finley standing in line behind her.
    Sybil stared at Violet’s backpack with a frown. Then, without speaking to Violet or the other Aldens, she pushed her way out of the jewelry shop and headed toward the cabins.
    “What’s with her?” Henry wondered.
    Jessie shrugged, adjusting her own backpack. “Maybe she remembered she had to do something in her cabin. The line back there was pretty long.”
    “Is it time for lunch yet?” Grandfather asked.
    Benny stopped in surprise. “Grandfather! That’s what I always say!”
    “Just thought I’d beat you to it!” said Grandfather.
    Everyone laughed as they walked up the path to the main building.
    Jonathan and Donald Hodge were sitting at their table in the dining room.
    “I hear you had a pretty productive morning,” Jonathan said to Violet. “May I see the stone you found?”
    Violet slipped her backpack off and hooked it on the back of her chair. Then she unzipped the outside pocket and handed Jonathan the plastic container.
    Jonathan gave a low whistle of admiration. “This would make a nice ring.” He showed the stone to Donald. “See? If you’d stayed on the line longer, you might have found something.”
    “Beginner’s luck,” Donald said. “But it is a nice stone.”
    Jonathan passed