Henry gasped. "Jill took the baseball glove!" he said.
"She must be the barn thief!"
"Let's get your glove back before she hides it somewhere," Cole said.
Both boys jumped out of their hiding place.
Jill had already disappeared around the corner.
But they could hear her calling Maggie's name.
"That's weird," said Henry. "Why is she yelling for Maggie?"
He ran toward Big Spot's stall with Cole right behind him.
They got there just in time to see Jill handing Henry's baseball glove to Maggie.
"I found this lying on the floor," Jill said with a frown.
"I assume it belongs to your cousin or his friend.
You'd better tell them that this is a barn, not a baseball field."
"You can tell them yourself," Maggie said. "They're right behind you."
"Oh!" Jill spun around and saw Henry and Cole.
"Does this glove belong to one of you?
Because I have enough to do around here without picking up after visitors."
"It's mine," Henry said. "Sorry about that."
"That's okay." Jill shrugged. "Just don't do it again, okay?"
"Oh well," Cole said after she was gone. "That plan didn't work."
Maggie looked worried.
"You'd better hurry and figure out a better plan," she said.
"It's already time for my lesson to start."
She led Big Spot out of his stall and down the aisle toward the riding ring.
"Maybe we should watch the lesson," Cole said.
"It doesn't seem like Jill is the thief. Or Zach or Eleanor.
That means we need to watch Daisy."
"Okay. I guess it's safe to leave my glove here since nobody seems to want to steal it," Henry said.
"But should we take Maggie's stuff with us?" He picked up the bag.
"I don't want anything else to get stolen."
Cole sneezed. "No way! Put that down," he said.
"Cat hair flies out of it every time you touch it.
Maggie must have let her kittens sleep in it."
"Probably." Henry set the bag down.
"Aunt Ellen says the kittens get into everything."
"I can tell." Cole pointed to the bag. "Look, isn't that a cat toy?"
"Yes." Henry laughed and grabbed the mouse-shaped toy.
"The kittens probably batted it inside, and Maggie didn't notice.
I'd better stick it in the bottom of the bag so the barn cat doesn't grab it."
"Yeah." Cole grinned. "That's all we need—another thief!"
Leaving the bag behind, the boys headed outside to watch the lesson.
They were halfway to the riding ring when Little Spot ran over to them.
"Hi, Little Spot," Cole said, rubbing the beagle's ears.
Henry was looking at the ring.
Ms. Wood was in the center with three riders trotting around her.
"It looks like Daisy isn't here today," Henry said.
"Really?" Cole stopped petting Little Spot and stood up.
"That means if she's the thief, nothing will disappear today."
Henry nodded. "Right! That could be why my glove . . ."
He stopped talking in the middle of his sentence.
Eleanor had jumped down from her pony and run out the gate.
She had almost reached the area where the boys were standing.
"Are you okay?" Henry called to her.
"I'm fine," Eleanor said. "I just need to go inside and get a tissue."
She raced past, heading for the barn.
Little Spot barked and ran after his owner.
"That's weird," Cole said.
"Couldn't she wait until the end of the lesson to get a tissue?
That could be suspicious behavior."
"Maybe," Henry said.
"But Eleanor is always complaining about how hard she's working, remember?
Maybe she just used the tissue story as an excuse to take a break."
"Oh yeah." Cole shrugged. "You're probably right."
Henry and Cole walked the rest of the way to the ring.
Maggie and Zach were still riding while Ms. Wood watched and gave them tips.
A few minutes later, Eleanor came out of the barn.
Soon she was back on her pony.
When the lesson ended, Maggie led her pony over to the boys.
"Did you solve the mystery yet?" she asked them.
"Not yet," Henry said. "But we noticed Daisy is absent.
If she's the thief, nothing will get stolen today."
"Oh! Good point." Maggie nodded.
"You just have to figure out a way to prove it."
"Don't worry, we will," said Henry.
"Okay." Maggie didn't look too sure about that.
Just then Eleanor led her pony up to them, so The Lemonade Detectives had to stop discussing the case.
They all walked into the barn.
Maggie led Spot into his stall, and then turned to put her riding helmet in her bag.
As soon as she leaned over, she let out a shriek.
"I can't believe this!" she yelled. "One of my sandals is gone!"