Thrill on the Hill

  Chill on the Hill

  “Let’s have a hot chocolate,” Bess suggested.

  “Good idea,” Molly agreed.

  Nancy, Bess, George, and Molly climbed up the hill and left their sleds under a big tree. Bess led the way to the hot-chocolate van.

  When the girls finished their hot chocolate, they walked back to where they’d left their sleds.

  “Oh, no,” Molly said right away. “My sled is gone!”

  She was right. Nancy saw four sleds under the tree. One was hers, one was George’s, and one was Bess’s. But the fourth sled definitely wasn’t Molly’s.

  Contents

  Chapter 1: Ten Inches of Snow

  Chapter 2: No Marshmallows

  Chapter 3: Another Suspect

  Chapter 4: A Close Call

  Chapter 5: In the Garage

  Chapter 6: Garage Ghost

  Chapter 7: A Sporty Snowman

  Chapter 8: Snow Ice Cream

  1

  Ten Inches of Snow

  Wow!” eight-year-old Nancy Drew exclaimed. She was looking out her bedroom window. A thick layer of snow covered the grass, the trees, and the houses. The rose bushes in the yard were completely buried. The snow had fallen during the night, while Nancy was sleeping.

  Nancy dressed for school as quickly as possible. She ran downstairs.

  Her father was sitting at the kitchen table. Hannah Gruen, the Drews’ housekeeper, was working at the counter. She had taken care of Nancy ever since her mother died, five years earlier.

  “Good morning, Daddy,” Nancy said. “Hi, Hannah. Isn’t the snow great?”

  “Good morning, Pudding Pie,” Mr. Drew replied. “We got ten inches last night.”

  “Cool,” Nancy said. She slipped into her chair at the table.

  “Your school may be closed,” Hannah told Nancy. She turned up the radio. “Let’s listen to the news report.”

  Nancy began eating her toast and scrambled eggs. She listened as the radio announcer read a long list of schools that were closed because of the snow.

  “Carl Sandburg Elementary School,” the announcer said.

  “Yippee!” Nancy yelled. “No school! May I please go sledding in the park?”

  “Why not?” Mr. Drew said with a smile. “I’ll get your sled out of the basement.”

  “Great,” Nancy said.

  After breakfast she called her friends George Fayne and Bess Marvin. They agreed to meet at Nancy’s house as soon as possible.

  Half an hour later, the girls were pulling their sleds through the deep snow. Each step took a lot of energy. It took the girls almost ten minutes to get to the end of Nancy’s street.

  “Pulling a sled in the snow is hard,” Bess said. She had the same kind of sled as Nancy—a wooden one with runners.

  “I think it’s fun,” George said. She had a blue saucer sled.

  Nancy smiled. Sometimes it was difficult to believe her best friends were cousins. They were so different.

  Bess’s blond hair was neatly pulled back with a hair band. She was careful not to fall down. Bess didn’t like her clothes to get dirty. George was taller with dark, curly hair. She liked sports more than Bess did. Even though the girls were different, they had tons of fun together.

  Nancy was happy when the girls finally reached the park. Near the entrance, a woman was selling hot chocolate from a van.

  “Hilda’s Hot Chocolate,” Nancy read off the van’s side. “We’ll have to come back here later. Daddy gave me some money.”

  “We can drink hot chocolate to warm up,” George said. “But we have to get cold first!”

  The girls walked into the park. They stood at the top of a long hill and looked down. Dozens of kids were sledding. Nancy spotted some boys from her class: Mike Minelli, Jason Hutchings, and David Berger.

  “Here comes Molly,” Bess said.

  Molly Angelo was marching up the hill. She was dragging her sled behind her. Molly was in the same class as Nancy, Bess, and George. She was a small, bouncy girl with long, curly dark hair.

  “Wait for me! “Molly called to the others. “We can go down the hill together!”

  “Okay,” Nancy called. She positioned her sled on the top of the hill and sat down on it. She kept her feet on the ground so she wouldn’t start sliding.

  “I’m ready!” Molly announced. Her sled had hand brakes, a plastic seat, and wide runners.

  “Me, too!” George said.

  “Just a second,” Bess said. She was still fussing with her gloves and scarf.

  Nancy gave Bess another minute to get ready. Then she pushed off.

  “Catch me if you can!” Nancy yelled. She laughed as she bumped over the snow. Her sled went faster and faster. The wind was blowing in her eyes.

  Near the bottom, Molly zoomed past Nancy. Her sled went farther than Nancy’s, too.

  George and Bess stopped behind Nancy.

  “That was fun!” George said as she climbed off her sled.

  “Yeah!” Molly said.

  “I got snow on my clothes,” Bess said. But she was smiling.

  “Let’s go again,” Nancy said. She led the way up the hill.

  “Your sled is fast,” George told Molly.

  “I know,” Molly said. “I just got it for my birthday. You guys can try it, if you like.”

  “Okay,” Nancy agreed.

  On the next run, Nancy and Molly switched sleds. Then George took a turn on Molly’s sled. They were coming up the hill for the fourth time when Rebecca Ramirez called their names.

  Rebecca lived near Nancy. They walked to school together. Rebecca wanted to be an actress when she grew up. She made a big drama out of everything.

  “Hi, Rebecca!” Nancy called. “Where’s your sled?”

  “My dumb brother has it,” Rebecca said with a heavy sigh. Rebecca’s brother, Todd, was twelve years old.

  “How come?” George asked.

  “It’s so unfair,” Rebecca said. “Todd didn’t take good care of his sled last winter. The runners rusted. Now Mom is making me share with him. Only, Todd disappeared. I haven’t seen him or my sled for half an hour.”

  “Maybe he went to the Gulch,” Nancy said. The Gulch was a steeper hill about half a mile away. Older kids liked to sled there.

  “Probably,” Rebecca said. “I bet I’ll never see my sled again!”

  “You can have a turn on mine,” Bess offered.

  “Thanks,” Rebecca said.

  For the next hour, the five girls shared four sleds. Nancy thought Molly’s was the most fun because it went fastest.

  Nancy was waiting for her friends at the top of the hill when some older kids arrived. She recognized Sam McCorry.

  Sam was wearing a jacket that said River Heights High School Football. Nancy knew Sam because she played with his younger sister sometimes.

  “This hill is tiny,” Sam told his friends.

  “Let’s do a few runs and then go to the Gulch,” one of Sam’s friends said.

  “Sounds good,” Sam said. “Beat you to the bottom!” He pushed off hard and started down the hill. His sled was exactly the same as Molly’s.

  Sam’s going too fast, Nancy thought. And he’s headed directly for Bess!

  Bess was just climbing off her sled at the bottom of the hill.

  “Watch out, Bess!” Nancy shouted.

  2

  No Marshmallows

  Nancy’s warning came too late.

  Sam plowed right into Bess. Bess fell backward into the snow.

  “Bess!” Nancy shouted. She ran down the hill. George, Rebecca, and Molly came running, too. Bess was lying on her side. She looked hurt.

  Nancy bent down next to Bess. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “I—I guess so,�
� Bess said. She slowly sat up and rubbed her leg.

  Sam walked over. “Is anything broken?” he asked.

  “No,” Bess said angrily. “But my leg hurts. You should be more careful.”

  “I’m sorry,” Sam said. He held out his hand. “Here. Let me help you up.”

  Bess let Sam pull her to her feet. She brushed the snow off her clothes.

  Sam’s friends came up with their sleds.

  “Nice control!” a boy in a brown ski cap teased Sam.

  “That race doesn’t count,” a girl with red hair told him.

  Sam seemed to forget all about Bess. “Why not?” he asked. “I beat you by a mile.”

  “You also knocked down a little kid,” the girl said. “So it doesn’t count.”

  “Fine,” Sam said. “We’ll race again. And I’ll beat you again.”

  “You’re on,” the girl said.

  Sam and his friends rushed off for the top of the hill.

  “They weren’t very worried about me,” Bess said in a grumpy voice. “And they called me a little kid!”

  George gave Bess a pat on the shoulder. “Come on,” she said. “You’re not hurt. Forget about Sam. Let’s go for another run.”

  “No thanks,” Bess said. “I’m staying as far away from Sam McCorry as possible. As long as he’s sledding here, I’m not.”

  “I have to head home anyway,” Rebecca said. “My mom—” She stopped talking because her brother had sledded up to them.

  “Hey, Rebecca,” Todd said. “You can have your sled now. I’m going to build a snowman with my friends.”

  “I don’t want it,” Rebecca said. “I’m going home now.”

  “Too bad,” Todd said. “It’s your turn.”

  Todd headed up the hill. He left the sled at Rebecca’s feet.

  “This is so unfair,” Rebecca said. “I pulled the sled here. Todd rode it all morning. And now I have to take it home!”

  “Why don’t you stay awhile?” Nancy asked.

  “I can’t,” Rebecca said. “Mom wants me to help her shovel the walks.”

  “Too bad,” Nancy said.

  “Let’s have a hot chocolate now,” Bess suggested. “Maybe Sam will be gone by the time we finish.”

  “Good idea,” Molly agreed.

  The girls climbed up the hill. Rebecca headed for home. The other girls left their sleds under a big tree. Bess led the way to the hot-chocolate van.

  The woman inside peered out at them. She had gray hair pulled back in a sloppy bun. Her eyebrows were bushy. Her eyes were small and dark.

  “Are you Hilda?” Nancy asked.

  “What?” the woman shouted. She cupped a hand behind her ear and leaned closer.

  “Are you Hilda?” Nancy said louder.

  “That’s me,” Hilda said in a grouchy voice. “How many?”

  “Four,” Nancy said.

  “That will be two dollars,” Hilda said.

  Nancy paid. Hilda took her money without saying “thank you.” While she fixed the cups of hot chocolate, she talked into a phone that was tucked between her ear and shoulder.

  “The van needs new tires,” Hilda yelled. She passed the cups out to the girls.” Four new tires! And I don’t have enough money for even one!”

  “Come on,” Molly said, pointing to a park bench. “Let’s go sit over there. I don’t want to hear Hilda screaming.”

  The others nodded. They walked over to the bench, brushed off the snow, and sat down.

  Nancy took a sip of her hot chocolate. “Yuck,” she said. “This hot chocolate tastes like water.”

  George made a face. “Maybe some marshmallows would help,” she suggested. “I’ll go ask Hilda if she has any.”

  The other girls waited while George went back to the van. She returned quickly.

  “Sorry,” George said. “I couldn’t get any marshmallows. Hilda isn’t in the van.”

  “That’s okay,” Molly said.

  “It doesn’t taste too bad if you hold your nose,” Bess said.

  The girls finished most of their hot chocolate. They put their cups in a trash bin. Then they walked back to where they’d left their sleds.

  “Oh, no,” Molly said right away. “My sled is gone!”

  She was right. Nancy saw four sleds under the tree. One was hers, one was George’s, and one was Bess’s. But the fourth sled definitely wasn’t Molly’s. It was a beat-up saucer. Even the pink rope attached to it looked old.

  “My earmuffs are gone, too,” Molly said. She sounded as if she was about to cry. “I left them tucked under my sled.”

  “It looks like you’ve been robbed,” George said.

  “Well, I want my sled back,” Molly said. “I’ll offer a reward to whoever finds it. I’ll, um, give them my secret snow ice cream recipe.”

  Nancy felt bad for Molly. But she was also excited. She loved to solve mysteries, and she was good at it.

  “I don’t understand,” Bess said. “Who would want Molly’s sled? All of the kids here already have their own.”

  “Not Todd,” Nancy said.

  “That’s right,” George said. “He could have taken Molly’s sled because he hates sharing with Rebecca.”

  “Look!” Nancy said. “Those sled tracks are extra fat. They look like they might have been made with the runners on your sled, Molly.”

  Molly bent down for a closer look. “I’m pretty sure those tracks were made by my sled,” she said.

  “Let’s see where they lead,” Nancy said. The girls followed the tracks through the snow to the sidewalk. But then the tracks blended in with lots of footprints.

  Nancy turned in a circle. “Whoever dragged Molly’s sled up here could have been getting into a car.”

  “Or a van!” Molly exclaimed. “The hot-chocolate van is only a few yards away.”

  “Hilda could have taken the sled,” George said. “She could sell it for the money she needs to buy new tires.”

  Nancy was thinking about that when something hit her in the back of the head!

  3

  Another Suspect

  Someone hit me with a snowball,” Nancy said. She rubbed the back of her head.

  “Who?” George asked. At that second, another snowball hit her right in the face!

  “It was Mike Minelli!” Bess yelled, pointing. “I saw him. He’s right behind that tree.”

  “Jason Hutchings is with him!” Molly added. “David Berger, too!”

  “We’d better get under cover,” Nancy called. The girls ran to a park bench, and hid behind it.

  “Don’t let the boys hit me,” Bess said. “I don’t want to get snow in my hair.”

  “You and Molly make snowballs,” George said. “Nancy and I will throw them.”

  The boys pitched snowballs at them from behind the trees. Nancy and George threw back.

  Nancy hit Mike right in the chest. “Bull’s-eye!” she yelled.

  “Attack!” David yelled. The boys ran toward the girls’ bench, throwing snowballs as quickly as possible.

  But Bess and Molly had lots of snowballs piled up. All four girls threw as fast as they could. They hit the boys with one snowball after another.

  “Run away!” Jason yelled to the other boys.

  “We’ll get you next time! “Mike called.

  “Four against three isn’t fair anyway!” David hollered.

  George laughed as she flopped down on the bench. “We showed them!”

  “That was fun,” Nancy said.

  “Yeah,” Bess said. “Except that my gloves are soaked!”

  Molly rolled her eyes. “I didn’t think it was so much fun. Mike Minelli is always playing jokes on me. I’m sick of it.”

  Mike was always clowning around, Nancy thought. He’d put spaghetti down her shirt once. And he had tried to scare Nancy and her friends when they were having a slumber party at Rebecca’s house.

  “Do you guys think Mike might have taken Molly’s sled?” Nancy asked. “It could be another one of his prac
tical jokes.”

  “But Mike was just here,” Bess said. “If he’d stolen the sled, we would have seen it.”

  “Maybe yes, maybe no,” Molly said. “Mike could have put the sled up in a tree. He might have taken it back to my garage. Or he could have buried it under three feet of snow. That’s the kind of thing Mike thinks is funny.”

  Nancy nodded. “Let’s add Mike to our list of suspects,” she said. “We can watch him tomorrow at school.”

  “If we don’t find Molly’s sled before then,” George said.

  “And if we even have school tomorrow,” Bess added. “Maybe it will be another snow day.”

  “Maybe,” Nancy agreed. “But even if we don’t see Mike at school, we know where he lives. But we don’t know how to find Hilda.”

  “Nancy’s right,” Molly said. “Hilda could just drive away and take my sled with her.”

  “We’d better search around the van for clues right now,” Nancy said. “Before it’s too late.”

  The girls began to walk toward the van. “I hope Hilda doesn’t see us,” Bess said. “She was grouchy before. I bet she’ll be really mad if she catches us snooping.”

  “That’s true,” Nancy said. “Maybe you and George should distract Hilda while Molly and I look for clues.”

  The others agreed. When they got to the van, George and Bess went to the little window where they had ordered. There were no other people buying hot chocolate.

  Molly and Nancy tiptoed around the back of the van.

  “Look,” Molly whispered. “The doors are open.”

  “What super luck,” Nancy said. “Now we can see inside.”

  Nancy peeked into the van. The seats were gone. The space inside was set up as a tiny kitchen. Nancy saw a row of cabinets above a small counter. Under the counter was a little refrigerator. A microwave oven sat on the countertop. There was even a miniature sink. Way in the front of the van, Nancy could see two seats and the steering wheel.

  “Where’s Hilda?” Nancy whispered. She wasn’t in the little kitchen or in the front of the van.

  Just then George and Bess joined Nancy and Molly. “Hilda isn’t here,” George reported.

  “What should we do now?” Bess asked.