Henry spun around when he heard Daisy scream.
He saw her throw a towel onto the ground.
Tiny black insects were crawling up her arms!
She raced toward the pool and jumped in.
A second later she came up from underwater. "Whew!" Daisy said.
"There was a swarm of ants on my towel!
Luckily I rinsed them off before they could bite me."
Henry hurried over to look at the towel Daisy had dropped.
Sure enough, dozens of ants were crawling all over it!
"That's weird." Cole looked over Henry's shoulder.
"How did those ants get there?"
Henry was wondering the same thing.
He shook off the ants, and then took a closer look at the towel.
It was white, but there was a purple stain on it.
When he sniffed the stain, it smelled sweet, like grape juice.
"What is it?" Maggie asked.
"Daisy must have spilled her sports drink on her towel," Henry said.
"Ants love sweet stuff."
He went over to where Daisy was talking to Coach Phillips.
Henry showed them the stain.
"Did you spill something on your towel earlier?" he asked Daisy.
"It's not my towel," Daisy said.
"I forgot mine, so I borrowed that one from Tiny."
"Let me see that, Henry."
Coach Phillips looked at the towel with an anxious frown.
"I hope someone didn't spill their drink in the locker room.
There will be ants everywhere! I'd better go check."
"I have an extra towel in the office," Lauren told Daisy.
"We'll be right back, everyone."
Coach Phillips, Lauren, and Daisy headed toward the pool building.
"Do you think the ants are connected to the frog prank?" Maggie asked Henry.
"I'm not sure," Henry said. "Let's go ask Tiny about his towel."
Henry and Maggie walked over to Tiny.
"Did you know there was grape drink on that towel you loaned to Daisy?" Maggie demanded.
Tiny shook his head.
"That towel was clean when I put it in my locker this morning.
Maybe Tommy accidentally dragged it in something when he took it out of my locker."
"You mean Tommy was the one who brought the towel to Daisy?" Henry asked.
"Why didn't you get it yourself?"
"I was busy stretching, so John said he'd ask Tommy to get it," Tiny said.
"But I still feel terrible about what happened."
"Maybe Cole isn't the only swimmer that Tommy wanted out of tryouts," Henry murmured to Maggie as they walked away.
"Maybe Tommy is trying to chase away all of his competition, including Daisy!"
"That's the only way he could ever make the team," Maggie said.
"Let's go question him!"
She raced toward Tommy. "Why did you give Daisy that towel?"
Tommy looked confused.
"Because Daisy forgot hers, and Tiny had an extra one," he said.
"How did that grape stuff get on there?" Maggie demanded.
"And all those ants?"
"I don't know," Tommy said.
Henry couldn't tell if Tommy was lying or telling the truth.
Either way Henry was afraid that Maggie's questions might make him mad.
He quickly changed the subject.
"Hey, Tommy," he said. "Why did you decide to try out for the swim team?"
"My parents wanted me to get some exercise this summer," Tommy said.
"I thought it would be fun to swim with my brother.
Too bad I stink at swimming!" He laughed.
Just then John came over to give him some swimming tips.
Henry and Maggie wandered away.
"Do you think Tommy's telling the truth?" Maggie asked.
"I'm not sure," Henry said. "Let's go see what Cole thinks."
Cole was checking on the frogs. "Did you solve the mystery yet?" he asked.
"Not yet," Henry said, keeping his voice low.
"But we have a couple of suspects. One of them is Tommy Miller."
"We think he might be trying to get you kicked out of tryouts," added Maggie.
"That way he'll have a better chance to make the team."
"Tommy?" Cole shook his head. "No way. He's a nice kid.
Plus he's not competitive like his older brother.
Tommy doesn't care if he makes the team or not."
Just then Kyle marched over. He was two years older than Henry and Cole.
"You should go home and take your frogs with you, Cole," Kyle said loudly.
"Fifth-grade nerds don't belong here!
You should have tried out for the junior swim team."
"I'll be in sixth grade in the fall," Cole told him.
"That means I can try out for either team."
Kyle took a sip of the purple sports drink he was holding, and then smirked.
"Oh yeah?" he said. "I just heard Coach Phillips talking to Lauren.
She's trying to talk him into kicking you out of tryouts!"