Читать книгу The Uranium Mystery - Mary Adrian - Страница 5

David Price lived at the Frontier Motel. It was his home — the most interesting place in the world, since it was different from the houses his friends lived in. It was like a small hotel. In the center stood the main building with an office and a snack bar on the first floor. Upstairs were sleeping quarters for his parents, and a big room for himself. On both sides of the main building was a row of rooms, each one looking like a tiny apartment, and each one having its own entrance to accommodate tourists.

In winter David often looked in the rooms, for then many were empty, and he felt lost without people hurrying in and out. But in summer so many cars stopped at the Frontier Motel that David scarcely had a moment to himself. The overnight guests were always friendly and loved to talk to him as much as he loved to talk to them. Then, too, the snack bar did a wonderful business, for people on vacation were always hungry.

David marvelled that they could eat so much and drink so much soda pop. Of course, he never refused food himself. One of the important things in his life was eating. So he was always glad when Mom baked cakes and cookies and put them on display at the snack bar. Some were bought before he could even get a bite, but Mom said that was good business—every penny counted.

David often sat and listened to his parents talk about the mortgage on the Frontier Motel. It became a familiar word to him, and he learned that the bank had loaned them a large sum of money to build the motel. All that money, plus a little more, must be paid back within a certain time.

But the Frontier Motel was doing very well, and Mom and Dad were so pleased that they had taken David into their confidence and told him that if business continued, in three years the motel would be free of debt.

That was last year. This year things were not humming as usual. The reason was that another motel, a brand new one, had opened only half a mile away, and many tourists were stopping there instead.

Tonight David wished with all his heart that people driving along the highway would be impressed by the sign STOP AT THE FRONTIER MOTEL AND FEEL AT HOME. He would make them feel welcome, too, because for the first time in his life he was in charge of the motel. Yes, sir, he was the manager, and he felt it was a great responsibility resting on his twelve-year-old shoulders. But Dad had given him confidence. “You’re the boss now, son,” he had said when he and Mom had to leave suddenly for an important visit to Aunt Martha’s. “You know as much as I do about running the motel. And you’ll be safe with Mr. Russell living here all the time and with Laurie and Johnny Smith next door.”

“I will,” David had called, waving goodby to them as the car moved out of the driveway. “Give my best to Aunt Martha. And don’t worry, Mom. I’ll do a good job.”

“I’m sure you will.” Mom’s voice had sounded a little anxious, though. And David, determined more than ever to do his best, walked into the office of the motel, holding his head high.

With an important step, he took up his post behind the snack bar at one end of the room. He peered at himself in the mirror, pulled a comb out of his pocket, and ran it through his stubborn brown hair. Then quickly he slipped it back into his pocket, remembering that Mom always said you must not comb your hair in front of customers. But there were no customers at the snack bar. So he had nothing to worry about. On the other hand he did have something to worry about. There were still six vacancies at the Frontier Motel, and it was already eight o’clock.

David thumped his fingers on the counter and cocked an ear for a stopping car. Soon the screen door opened and a fat lady walked in. She had a pleasant face, round, with laughing wrinkles at the corner of her eyes.

“Is there something I can do for you, Ma’am?” David cleared his throat and tried to make his voice sound manly.

“Why, yes. I would like a single room for the night,” said the woman.

“Yes, Ma’am,” cried David. With the swiftness of an arrow he slid out from behind the counter.

The lady blinked, a bit startled, for David had shrunk five inches. Of course he did not tell her that he had been standing on a thick block of wood behind the counter to make himself appear taller. That is one thing that troubled David. He was short for his age, and he was afraid people might think he was not old enough to manage the motel.

Right now he could feel the woman staring at him as he reached into the desk drawer for a key to her room.

“Isn’t your mother around?” she asked.

“No, Ma’am. She and Dad had to go to my aunt’s house. But I hope you will be comfortable. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me.” David gulped after his speech. He felt like a parrot, repeating everything his mother said when a tourist wanted a room. It did the trick, though, for the fat lady’s cheeks glistened like red apples, and she was smiling. “My, you’re a nice young man!”

David grinned, a broad grin that made the freckles dance on either side of his nose. He waited while the woman registered and watched in silence as she wrote her name, the make of her car and the license number,

“How much do I owe you?” she asked.

“Six dollars, please,” answered David.

“My, that’s very reasonable,” replied the woman as she gave David a ten-dollar bill.

He lost no time in giving her her change, and then proudly led the way across the graveled driveway to a room for a single person. After that he hurried back to the office, stood on the block of wood behind the counter again and eagerly waited for the next customer.

The clock on the wall ticked merrily away. The four easy chairs stood empty until a middle-aged man with sandy hair came in and sat down. He was Mr. Russell, whose hobby was studying plants. But he was as poor as a church mouse. David heard his mother tell his father that, and also that Mr. Russell had not paid a cent since he had taken a room at the motel three weeks ago. Of course, he expected money to come from New York City, but each day the mail brought nothing for Mr. Russell.

Dad kept saying, “He’ll pay. I know he will.”

Dad was like that. If he liked a person, he would do anything for him. In fact, he was always loaning money to friends. Sometimes they paid him back, and sometimes they didn’t. Mom was afraid Mr. Russell might be one of those people who didn’t. Besides, Mom said it was poor business to let someone stay at the motel and not pay for his room in advance. Just as it was not wise to leave two thousand dollars in the safe at the motel, as Dad had done.

For some time now Dad had promised to take the money to the bank. But each day he said he would do it the next day, until Mom decided to take the matter into her own hands. Only this afternoon, when she was about to go to the bank, the telephone call had come from Aunt Martha, and everything else was forgotten, even that Mr. Russell owed three weeks’ rent.

Yet no one could help liking Mr. Russell. His laugh was as contagious as someone eating popcorn. David caught the contagion as Mr. Russell started leafing through the pages of a magazine and chuckled to himself. Soon David was chuckling along with him.

Presently two women with gray hair and thin bird-like faces came into the office. Mr. Russell was still amused by the pictures in the magazine. The old ladies looked at him and started laughing, not knowing why, but just laughing, until David’s friends, Laurie and Johnny came into the office. David was so glad to see them that he forgot about standing on the block of wood. He leaned back, and the next thing he knew he was sprawled out on the floor behind the counter.

“Oh, my goodness!” cried the ladies, “Are you hurt?”

“Shucks, no,” said David, getting up, red in the face. “Is there something I can do for you? Mom isn’t here.”

The women wanted a double room, and as David led them to their quarters, Laurie and Johnny stared after him with envy.

When he returned a few minutes later, they were full of questions, especially Laurie. She was Johnny’s sister, two years younger than he. She had quite a time keeping up with the boys. At first they had not wanted her to play with them. But now she could climb the highest tree in back of the motel and shoot marbles almost as well as the boys so they accepted her as one of them.

She sat down in front of the counter, wound her legs around a stool and then said with a serious expression, “Golly, David, aren’t your mother and dad coming back at all tonight?”

“No,” answered David. “I’m the boss, and Dad says I’ll do a good job, too.” With a snap of his fingers he added, “But it’s easy running the motel, just as easy as working a Geiger counter when you prospect for uranium.”

“You mean you can work a Geiger counter?” asked Johnny. “I heard that’s a hard thing to do.”

“It’s simple, once you know how,” answered David. He reached into a drawer under the counter and pulled out a device that looked like a portable radio.

Johnny and Laurie stared at the instrument with eyes as big as saucers.

“Dad says this is one of the best field counters on the market,” continued David. “It operates by battery and costs over a hundred dollars. It’s got a light that flashes, and earphones, and a dial that gives the number of counts per minute. You see, when you get a lot of counts, then you know there is uranium around.”

Laurie nodded, pretending that she understood when she really did not. Then in an important voice she said, “Wherever I go I hear people talking about uranium.” She spoke the last word with a proud air, glad to show that she was able to pronounce it correctly.

“I’ll bet you don’t know what uranium is,” said David.

“I do, too,” answered Laurie.

“Well, what is it?” asked David, smiling at her.

Laurie wiggled her bare feet under the counter and frowned. “It’s . . . er . . . it’s stuff that comes out of a rock and makes heat, like oil in the oil burner. And it’s used in making a submarine zoom through the water. Only the submarine doesn’t have to stop like an automobile and get gas. It keeps on going because it has atomic fuel. That’s what uranium is. It makes atomic power.”

David raised an eyebrow. “Hmm. Not bad. I didn’t think you were that smart.”

Johnny gave his sister a pat on the back. He was happy that she remembered what he had told her about uranium.

Even Mr. Russell pricked up his ears at Laurie’s answer. “You’re a smart little girl. Some grown people don’t know what uranium is. I was surprised myself when I read that there are more than one hundred uranium-bearing minerals. Of course, many of them have very little uranium. You see, the earth’s crust is made up of rocks, and they are made up of two or more minerals. Now a mineral is a combination of some metal and some non-metallic substance. I guess that’s a little hard for you to understand.”

“No, it isn’t,” said David. “Dad told me that uranium belongs to the metal group. And one of the most important minerals is called pitchblende. It’s heavier than iron and as hard as steel. And it’s grayish black and sometimes looks a little bit green.”

“You’re teaching me a few things,” said Mr. Russell. “I didn’t know that about pitchblende.”

David smiled with pride. “I know a good deal about radioactivity, too. The rocks or minerals that have uranium in them send out certain rays. They’re called radiations. But we can’t feel, see or hear these rays. Only an instrument like the Geiger counter can because it picks up radioactivity. So that’s why when you’re prospecting, you count the number of times per minute the light blinks on the counter, or you listen through the earphones for radioactivity.”

“You sound like a walking encyclopedia,” chuckled Mr. Russell. “You should make a good prospector.”

“Dad is going to take me prospecting tomorrow,” answered David. “We went yesterday, but we didn’t have any luck.”

“Where did you go?” asked Mr. Russell.

“In the woods, just beyond the meadow. Dad thinks we might find some pitchblende there.”

“If you find that, you’re made,” said Mr. Russell. “The government gives a bonus of ten thousand dollars for the discovery of a new deposit of high grade ore. You might strike some that will bring in a million dollars. A man in Colorado hit the jackpot when he discovered uranium.”

“Golly,” said Laurie. “You’ll be very rich, won’t you, David?”

“Yes.” He grinned from ear to ear. Then in a solemn voice he added, “But Dad says money isn’t the important thing in finding uranium. It will help other countries, so that they can have atomic power, too. You see, uranium isn’t used only in making bombs to defend the United States. It can also be used in the countries where they do not have any water power because they have no rivers. And in some places it is useful where they do not have any coal or oil.”

“That must be awful,” said Laurie. “Every time our oil burner goes on the blink, we almost freeze to death. So in winter it must be very cold for those people who don’t have any heat. I sure hope you will find some uranium, David.”

“Dad is going to order a Geiger counter like yours,” said Johnny. “But it will take a while to get it. Gee, I’d love to go with you and your father. You don’t suppose. . . .”

“I’ll ask Dad when he gets back,” answered David. “He’s strict about not taking anyone along, but you and Laurie are my friends, so he might make an exception.”

Then David was all attention. People were coming into the office, ten of them in all. Some wanted coffee and doughnuts, others soft drinks, and some wanted rooms.

For a few minutes David was so busy that he moved behind the counter like a jack-in-the-box. But Laurie and Johnny helped to serve the food, and Mr. Russell took care of the cash register so that David could show the people their rooms.

“Wow!” said David when the rush was over and he came back into the office. “I certainly appreciate your helping me out. I was really in a jam. But I’ve got every room rented except one. Boy! Won’t Mom and Dad be glad.”

Just then the screen door opened again, and a tall man walked in. His tan shirt and brown pants were soiled and torn. His thick crop of black hair was badly in need of combing, just as his dirty hands were in need of washing. As for his face, David could not make out what the man really looked like since he was wearing dark glasses. But he certainly hoped he would not ask for a room because he was not the type of person who stayed at the motel.

David’s fears were soon relieved, however, for the stranger slouched down on one of the stools at the snack bar. “A cup of coffee and some doughnuts,” he said in a husky voice.

“Yes, sir.” David hurried to fill the order.

While the man ate, all eyes were turned on him. Mr. Russell, Laurie and Johnny stared at the back of the hunched-over figure, while David shifted uneasily from one foot to the other, waiting for him to finish eating. But he took his time, and then ordered another cup of coffee and more doughnuts.

“You sure love doughnuts, mister, don’t you!” said David, to break the silence, which was getting him on edge. “I don’t blame you, either. I like them too, but that’s because they’re homemade. Mom makes the best doughnuts in town. Dad says that’s why he married her.”

The stranger did not answer. He looked out of the window into the dark night and then said, “Got a single room left?”

“Well, er, I don’t know, sir. I’ll have to see.” David walked over to the desk and looked at the chart of rooms.

“You have a vacancy sign out there,” snapped the man. “So you must have a room left.”

“Yes. I guess we have.” David’s voice sounded weak, for the man was leaning over him, and he could feel his breath on his cheek.

Just then Mr. Russell broke the tension by saying, “Are you a stranger around these parts?”

No answer from the man. He quickly wrote his name on the registration card and then snatched the key from David.

“I’ll find my room,” he said. “I’ll pay you in the morning.” And with a slam of the screen door he left the office.

David blinked his eyes and swallowed hard. “Gee, maybe I shouldn’t have rented him a room.”

“I know what you mean,” said Laurie. “He gives me the creeps. Why, I can still feel goose pimples going up and down my back!”

“Perhaps you had better call the state police,” suggested Johnny. “He might have robbed a bank, and they’re looking for him. I could swear he had a gun in one of his pockets.”

“Do you really think so!” David’s eyes grew bigger and bigger, and his heart began to pound.

“Now take it easy,” said Mr. Russell. “He’s probably not as bad as he looks. Of course, I will say he wasn’t very sociable. But he might have been hitchhiking for miles and felt so doggone tired that he didn’t care to talk.”

“I hope you’re right,” answered David. Then he frowned, for doubts still entered his mind about the stranger.

“There is really nothing to worry about,” continued Mr. Russell. “You’re doing a swell job running the motel. I know your mom and dad are going to be mighty proud of you.”

A smile came to David’s freckled face. Mr. Russell made a boy realize that he was grown up. He only wished Laurie and Johnny felt that everything was all right, but Mr. Russell had not been able to convince them. They stood there with troubled expressions on their faces.

Finally Laurie looked at the clock. It was half past nine. “Golly, I didn’t know it was that late. Mom won’t like our staying so long. We’d better go, Johnny.”

“Ah, shucks, why do we always have to go to bed when things begin to get interesting,” answered Johnny. He gave a long sigh and slowly started toward the door. “See you tomorrow, David. If something pops during the night, just telephone and I’ll come right over.”

“Sure thing,” answered David.

“You can call on me, too,” said Mr. Russell. He got up from his chair and started to leave. “But I don’t think it will be necessary. All the rooms are taken, aren’t they?”

“Yes,” answered David. “I’ll light the NO VACANCY sign now.” He followed Mr. Russell outside and watched him go to his room with a magazine tucked under his arm. Then he looked at the room that the stranger occupied. The shade was drawn, but the lamp in the front window burned brightly, and David could not help wondering what the rest of the night would bring. He felt certain it was going to be exciting and probably mysterious, too.