Read Online Hockey Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner - Free Book Online

problems. They’re going to let me know later today. But you know what was really funny,” he added. “Beth’s mom was there. I saw her going in to talk to them after I left.”
    “That’s interesting,” said Henry. He remembered Jessie had overheard Mrs. Davidson talking about the rink and her “secret plan.” He hoped her plan wasn’t to convince the council not to build it.
    “Anyway, I’m not going to worry about that now,” said Kevin. “We’ve got a game to play!”
    A short while later, the Polar Bears and the Sharks were on the ice, warming up for the game.
    “Beth!” Coach called out.
    “Yes, Coach?” Beth answered.
    “I just realized we don’t have any extra sticks in case someone breaks one,” Kevin said. “Can you go to Scott’s office and get some?”
    “Sure, no problem,” said Beth, skating off the ice.
    The other girls continued their warm-ups.
    “Uh-oh,” Rebecca said as she skated beside Jessie, eyeing the other team.
    “What’s wrong?” Jessie asked.
    “They look pretty good,” said Rebecca. Like the Polar Bears, the Sharks were taking turns shooting the puck into the goal. Nearly every shot was a good one.
    “They’re undefeated this year,” added Kaitlin as she skated past.
    “Until today,” said Cathy, joining the group. “We’re going to beat them.” She had a big smile on her face and looked excited to play.
    Cathy seemed happier than she had in a long time, Jessie noticed. She wondered if her good mood had something to do with her important talk with her father the day before.
    “That’s right,” agreed Jessie, smiling at Cathy. “We are going to be the champs.”
    Jessie saw Beth hand a couple of sticks to Kevin before she returned to the ice. Then the whistle blew and warm-ups were over. The starting players got into their positions.
    Beth was facing a girl nearly a head taller than she was, and in just a moment the Sharks were racing up the ice in control of the puck.
    Wham!
    One of the Sharks took a slap shot into the goal and scored.
    “All right!” cheered one of the Sharks. Their fans roared.
    “I told you,” Rebecca whispered to Jessie, who was sitting beside her on the bench. “This is going to be a long game.”
    The next few minutes were indeed some of the longest Jessie could remember in any hockey game. The Sharks kept control of the puck almost the whole time. They were soon winning four to nothing. The Polar Bears had never been so far behind.
    When Jessie was out on the ice, she tried her hardest, but wasn’t able to get a shot on goal.
    Near the end of the period, Jessie was skating quickly up the ice with the puck. This time I’m going to score, she thought. But when she passed one of the Sharks, she suddenly felt her feet come out from under her.
    Bam! The next thing she knew, she was sitting on the ice.
    A whistle blew. The player she’d just passed had tripped her!
    With the Shark player sitting in the penalty box, the Polar Bears now had one more player on the ice than their opponent. And they were not going to waste this power play.
    But again, the Sharks quickly hit the puck all the way to the other end of the rink. Cathy knew what to do. Using her strong, powerful legs, she zoomed right up the ice and around a couple of Sharks. As soon as she’d crossed the blue line into the Sharks’ end of the rink, Cathy pulled her stick back and— smash!— fired the puck at the Sharks’ goal.
    The puck went in—Cathy had scored!
    All of the Polar Bears who were on the ice crowded around Cathy, and the others cheered from the bench. The fans in the stands cheered, too.
    This time Cathy was smiling broadly, proud of what she’d done. Again, Jessie wondered why she seemed so different today.
    The period ended a minute later, and the Polar Bears skated back to the bench, disappointed to be so far behind but excited by Cathy’s goal. After they’d rested for a couple of minutes and had some water, Coach Reynolds gathered the girls