Outer Space Mystery Read Free Page B

eat at the cookout and she was hungry.”
    “But why break into our room to steal an apple?” Henry asked. “She works near the kitchen — she could have anything she wants.”
    “Henry’s right,” Jessie agreed. “It doesn’t really make sense. Rachel’s kind of touchy, but I think she’s okay, deep down inside.”
    “I don’t think it’s Rachel, either,” Violet said.
    “Well, even if it doesn’t make sense, right now she’s our number one suspect,” said Henry.
    Just then their lunches came. The children were so hungry that they didn’t speak until there were only potato chip crumbs on their plates.
    The students were leaving. It was time for the afternoon session to begin.
    As the Aldens were getting up, they saw Eugene Scott pull his chair out in front of a group heading for the door. Mark Jacobs was hit by the chair.
    “Sorry,” Eugene said.
    Mark rubbed his shin. “It’s okay. It was an accident.”
    But Henry wasn’t so sure. To him, it looked as if Eugene had done it on purpose.
    Then Eugene hurried out of the dining room with a triumphant smirk on his face.
    Mark waved to the Aldens. “Hey, are you guys coming to the observatory tonight? The sky should be perfect.”
    “We’ll be there,” Jessie answered. She was excited about looking through the big telescope.
    “Will we see the moon?” Benny wanted to know. He didn’t believe the moon was made of Swiss cheese, but he wanted to make sure.
    “You bet,” Mark said. “There are many secrets in the heavens. I might even show you mine!”
    With that, he disappeared into the crowd.
    At the reception desk, Henry picked up a map showing the trails around the campus.
    “The trail we were on isn’t marked,” he said.
    “But we know it’s there,” said Violet. “Maybe it’s an old trail nobody is supposed to use anymore.”
    Jessie had been thinking. “It’s almost like that trail is a secret.”
    “Another mystery to solve!” Benny crowed. “We’re going to be busy this week!”
    The evening was cool and clear when the Aldens hiked up the trail to the observatory. Frogs cheeped and crickets chirped along the path. An owl hooted in the distance.
    “Whoever said the woods were quiet?” Violet remarked. She was glad when they reached the white building at the top. The owl’s eerie cry made her a little jumpy.
    Randy Merchant met them at the door.
    “I’m on my way out,” he told them. “Mark is at the ’scope. He’s expecting you.”
    He climbed into the school van parked on the side of a narrow road. People who didn’t want to walk the trail could drive up the road instead.
    Inside the observatory, the dome was open, allowing the huge telescope to poke into the night sky.
    Mark Jacobs stood at the top of a set of rolling metal stairs, adjusting some knobs on the telescope.
    “Hi!” he said as he waved them toward the stairs. “Come on up.”
    “These steps won’t move, will they?” Jessie wondered nervously.
    “The wheels have brakes,” Mark told her. “It’s safe.”
    One by one, the children climbed up onto the platform.
    Mark moved away from the eyepiece. “Who wants to see Jupiter?”
    “I do!” Benny said eagerly. Then he asked, “What’s Jupiter?”
    “Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system,” Mark replied. He positioned Benny beneath the eyepiece. “Now, look through there. Do you see a yellowish sphere with grayish stripes?”
    Benny stared a moment. Then he cried, “Yes, I do! It’s got a red dot in the center!”
    The others took turns peering through the eyepiece.
    “Wow!” Henry said, awed. “It looks so close.”
    “It isn’t,” Mark said. “It takes Jupiter twelve years to orbit the sun. It’s that far away! Our solar system is made up of several planets that orbit the sun.”

    “Like Mars,” Violet continued. “And Venus.”
    “Can we see the moon?” Benny asked.
    Mark shook his head. “Not yet. Moonrise will be in a little while.”
    Violet thought moonrise