“That must make the leopards sad,” Benny said. “I guess they’re called snow leopards because they like the snow so much.”

  “Actually, snow leopards live in some areas that never get much snow,” Kayla said. “As long as it’s high and cold, they’re okay. Mostly it only causes problems for researchers. If there’s snow, we might see tracks. Then we can follow the tracks or put up cameras along that path. If the leopards are walking on rocks or grass, you won’t see any tracks.”

  Violet sighed. “It doesn’t sound like we’re going to see any snow leopards.”

  Kayla patted her shoulder. “Don’t give up. PAW has been studying here for a few years. My colleagues may know where to look for snow leopards.” She grabbed Benny’s bag. “Come on, let’s get you settled into the lodge. I’ll head to the research facility to find out more about this GPS collar that’s not working.” She waved to Meera. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

  The children brought their bags to their rooms and then met in the lobby. It had low padded benches and colorful rugs on the floor. They had a warm lunch of lentils, rice, and vegetables. The man who ran the lodge was very friendly. His name was Norboo. When the children were done eating, he waved them over to the window. He looked through a telescope on a stand and moved it back and forth. After a moment, he said, “You want to see some wild ibex?”

  The children took turns at the scope. They were looking at a group of brown goats on a hillside across the valley. One of the goats had huge, curved horns and a short beard.

  “The one with big horns is a male,” Norboo said.

  “That’s so exciting!” Violet said. “Thanks for showing us.”

  “You are welcome,” Norboo said. “Snow leopards hunt the ibex. Maybe you will see snow leopards too while you are here.”

  “We hope so,” Violet said. “At least we got to see some animals.”

  Jessie yawned. “I’m tired again. I guess we need more time to get used to the thin air. I don’t want to miss anything though.”

  “I agree,” Henry said. “I want to know what’s happening at the research center. Let’s walk over there. We can go slowly.”

  They bundled up in their warmest clothes and stepped outside. A man sat on the steps, plucking an instrument similar to a guitar. The children listened to the music for a minute. The village was not as busy as the city of Leh. A couple of women stood in the street, talking in their language. Some local children waved to the Aldens, who waved back.

  At the edge of town, a herder tended to his flock. He wore a brown tunic that hung down to his knees over a pair of pants. His brown eyes were friendly in his lined face. “Hello,” he said. “Welcome.”

  The children thanked him and Benny petted a sheep. “Do you live here?” Henry asked.

  “I live outside town, toward the mountains, a five-minute walk.” He pointed down the street. “My name is Praveer.” The man gave a little bow. “I hope you will enjoy the beautiful sights of my home.”

  “It is very beautiful,” Jessie said.

  “We hope to see snow leopards.” Violet was usually shy with new people. The thought of snow leopards made her too excited to stay silent though.

  Praveer hesitated. Finally, he said, “If that is what you wish, I hope it for you also.”

  “Do you see them often?” Jessie asked.

  “See them? No,” Praveer said. “However, they sometimes come to my farm and kill my animals.”

  Violet stroked the donkey’s nose. “That’s sad,” she said.

  “It makes things hard,” Praveer said. “My family needs the animals we raise. They provide milk and butter. They grow wool for making yarn. We sell the extra to buy other food.” He motioned to his grazing flock. “The sheep and yaks provide meat to eat and skins for our blankets. Even the yak dung can be fuel for fires.”

  “Your animals must be very important to you,” Henry said.

  “They are everything. When my herd grows, my family is happy. We rent donkeys and yaks to the guides to carry things for tourists. Losing even one sheep to the snow leopards is a big setback. It may mean we have no money for a warm coat or new shoes.”

  “I wish you didn’t have to worry about the snow leopards,” said Violet.

  Praveer smiled at her. “Thank you. It was a problem for my father and my grandfather. Now it is my problem. But don’t worry about me. I am taking care of it.”

  Henry wondered what he meant by “taking care of it.” “There must be a way for both herders and snow leopards to get what they need,” he said.

  “People like to blame the herders for killing snow leopards.” Praveer tapped his chest. “We only want to protect ourselves and our animals.”

  “We don’t want to blame anyone,” Jessie said, thinking back to all the notes she took during their trip to the village. “We want to find answers that help everyone. People need jobs. Animals need places to live.”

  “Climate change matters too, right?” Henry asked. “Our friend says there’s not as much snow as there used to be. That must be bad for the snow leopards.”

  Praveer shook his head sadly. “The snow is melting. Glaciers are melting. Soon maybe we have no more glaciers.” He gave them a big smile. “But we will not talk of such things. You must enjoy our beautiful land.”

  “Can I take a picture of you and your flock?” Violet asked. “I want to remember everything we learn on this trip.”

  Praveer stood beside his sheep as she took the photo. Then the children said goodbye and headed through the village. It wasn’t hard to find the PAW research center.

  Inside, Kayla introduced them to an Indian woman sitting at a computer.

  “This is Sonia Chopra,” said Kayla. “She lives here full time and studies the snow leopards.”

  Sonia waved from her seat.

  “Are you from India?” Jessie asked.

  “I was born in America, but my family is from India,” she said. Unlike many of the people they had met in India, Sonia had an American accent. “That’s one reason I wanted this job. Kayla told me you are interested in the leopards. We have been trying to find out what happened to Tashi.”

  The children gathered around Sonia’s desk and looked at the computer screen.

  “The GPS collar sends a signal,” she explained. “That lets us see where the leopard has been.” Sonia pointed at a line on the screen. “Here you see how Tashi usually covers the same area. This spot is a gap in the cliffs. Tashi goes up and down that crevice.”

  “That is so cool,” Henry said. “We met a man who said snow leopards sometimes kill his livestock. With the GPS collar, you’d know if that snow leopard went to his farm.”

  “Yes.” Sonia zoomed out on the map. “Most of the farmers live down here in the valley, close to town. We can’t say for sure whether any snow leopard visited them, but we know if Tashi went there. Sometimes people blame the snow leopards when it might have been a fox, a wolf, a bear, or even a wild dog.”

  “We put up cameras at some of the farms,” Kayla said. “If we don’t want people to blame the snow leopards, we need to know what is really killing their livestock. Of course, sometimes it is a snow leopard. At least then we know. We can help people build better corrals to keep out predators.”

  Sonia tapped the computer keyboard. “Let me show you what we caught on the wildlife cameras. I’ll start with some of my favorite videos.”

  She played some short videos. The first showed a rocky cliff. At first the Aldens didn’t see anything unusual. Then, suddenly, what looked like a rock moved and came to life. It was a snow leopard! The big cat jumped down from a ledge and gracefully bounded across the screen.

  Another video showed snow leopard cubs. One cub curiously approached the camera and stuck its face right in the lens so all they could see was its nose. Then it batted the camera with a paw. The camera fell over, but it kept shooting while it was on its side. The Aldens watched footage of the cubs playing for several more minutes.

  Violet sighed with happiness. “They are so cute!”

  “Now let’s look at our most recent footage of Tashi.” Sonia tapped the keyboard again. “This is from a few days ago.” The camera showed a large leopard walking casually down a gap in the rocks.

  “Oh, she’s beautiful,” Violet said. “Look at that thick fur! I just want to hug her.” She giggled. “Don’t worry, I won’t try.”

  “How do you know when the snow leopards are going to be there?” Jessie asked. “Do you have to watch hours and hours of footage?”

  “The cameras have motion detectors in them,” Kayla said. “When something moves, the camera starts recording. We review all the recordings. Sometimes it’s a different animal, like a fox or some wild sheep. We make a note of those as well. It’s good to know who else uses the paths.”

  Sonia nodded. “Once a week I hike out to the cameras and collect the recordings. I usually have a few dozen recordings from each camera. Sometimes none of them show a snow leopard. Sometimes we get lucky and have more than one.”

  Jessie gave a huge yawn. “I’m sorry! It’s very interesting, but I’m still tired.”

  Kayla smiled. “Why don’t you head back to the lodge and rest? I’ll be going over data this afternoon. There won’t be much for you to do here.”

  “You’re not going to look for Tashi?” Henry asked.

  “We don’t know where to look yet,” Kayla said. “We’ll try to figure out what happened and make a plan.”

  “All right. We’ll go back and rest,” Henry said. He wanted to help, but he was feeling tired himself.

  Benny gave a loud sigh. “I hate rest!”

  Henry laughed. “How about a snack then?”

  “I like snacks,” Benny said. “And I am a little tired, so maybe some rest is okay.”

  They walked back through town slowly, looking at the sights. Even with the sun shining, it was cool in the mountains. At the lodge, Norboo gave them some bread and yak milk. The milk was rich and tangy. Benny smacked his lips. “It’s different from cow milk, but I like it.”

  They had a quiet afternoon. Jessie caught up on her notes. Violet sketched the scenery outside the window. Henry and Benny played some of the board games they found in the lobby. Then everyone had a nap.

  Kayla returned for dinner, looking worried. “It’s strange,” she told the children. “The collar shows Tashi going to an area she’s never been before. Then it simply stops working. I hope a hunter didn’t find her and destroy the collar.”

  “What are you going to do?” Jessie asked.

  “Tomorrow, Meera will take us to the last place the collar sent a signal,” Kayla said. “We don’t know what else to do. I hope you’re ready to do some hiking.”

  The children agreed. Everyone was excited to start helping.

  That night, the children gathered in the boys’ room. “I’m not tired now,” Jessie said. “Maybe we slept too much.”

  “I’m worried about Tashi,” Violet said. “It’s going to be hard to sleep thinking about that poor snow leopard in trouble.”

  “Don’t worry, Violet,” Benny said. “The missing leopard is a mystery. We’re good with mysteries!”

  Henry smiled at his younger brother. “That’s the spirit, Benny. Still, now that it’s time for bed, I’m not really tired. We’ve seen so much in the past few days. My mind is too busy to sleep.”

  They talked about their trip and the sights they’d seen. Jessie read out her notes about snow leopards. “Everyone has different priorities. Oliver thinks everyone should stay away from the snow leopards. Kayla and Sonia want to do research to understand the snow leopards better. The herder, Praveer, doesn’t want snow leopards eating his animals. Meera wants tourists so she can get paid to guide them to see the leopards.”

  “There must be a way to make everyone happy.” Violet frowned. “I don’t know what it is though.”

  A shriek cut through the night. The children sat up straighter.

  “What was that?” Violet whispered. “It sounded like someone screaming.”

  Jessie went to the window and looked out. A few people were walking past. It was dark, but Jessie thought she recognized one of them. She pushed open the window, and cold air blew in.

  “Oliver?” she called out. “Is that you?”

  Most of the people outside hurried away, but Oliver turned and walked toward them. “Oh, hello. This is where you’re staying?”

  Jessie nodded. “Did you hear that noise?”

  He didn’t answer for a moment. Then he said, “What did you hear?”

  The other children clustered around the window. “It sounded like someone screamed!” Benny said.

  Oliver gave a weak laugh. “Oh, that was me. I stubbed my toe on a rock. These streets are so uneven.”

  Henry looked over Benny’s head. “You made that sound?”

  “Yes.” Oliver laughed again. “It really hurt. I’m sure it sounded funny. My scream, I mean. Well, goodbye.”

  With that, Oliver turned and hurried away.

  Violet leaned out the window. “He isn’t walking like he has a hurt foot.”

  The other children watched for a moment. Then Jessie shivered, and Henry closed the window. “You’re right,” he told Violet. “It was only a stubbed toe though. That can hurt a lot at first, but it’s pretty easy to shake it off.”

  Jessie hugged herself to warm up. “I wonder why those people were out at this time of night. It’s cold, and there can’t be much to do here after dark.”

  “Maybe they were looking at the stars.” Henry covered a yawn. He was starting to feel tired once again. “It’s getting late, and we have a big day tomorrow. We should all try to get some sleep.”

  Benny crawled into his bed. “I’m going to try very hard to go to sleep. You know why?” He grinned. “Because in the morning, we get to help Kayla solve a mystery!”

  CHAPTER 5

  Mystery Becomes Mission

  The next morning, the Aldens woke up early and headed down to the lobby to meet Kayla. Together, they had a big breakfast of bread, cheese, fruit, and apricot juice. When they were finished, they met Meera outside and piled into her truck.

  Meera examined a map Kayla had printed out. “We will drive as close as we can,” she said. “Then you’ll need to hike.”

  “We’re ready,” Henry said. Everyone felt good that morning.

  As the truck left the village, Violet looked out the window. They were nearing something with bright colors. At first she thought the large triangle shape was a tent. As they got closer, she saw many pieces of cloth strung on ropes. The cloth squares were all different colors: red and green and blue and yellow and white.

  “What is that?” Violet asked. “Did someone hang laundry all the way out here?”

  Meera laughed. “No laundry. Those are prayer flags.”

  “Prayer flags promote peace and wisdom,” Kayla explained. “Each color means something different. They’re supposed to give off positive spiritual vibrations.”

  Violent frowned. “I don’t know what that means.”

  “Think of it as putting good thoughts into the world,” Kayla said. “Each flag is like a blessing. People hang them outside where the wind blows. The wind spreads the blessings so everyone benefits. People in Tibet started using prayer flags thousands of years ago. Now they are used by Buddhists in many countries.”

  Meera pointed into the distance. “See those white buildings? That is a Buddhist monastery. Most people in India follow the Hindu religion. There are also many Muslims. This part of the country has more Buddhists. People come from all over to visit the monasteries.”

  After they passed the monastery, Meera turned onto a rough road, and the truck bumped along through the valley. Low stone walls snaked through fields of green grasses with small yellow flowers. The brown mountains rose steeply on either side. High above, craggy peaks blended with the clouds.

  After a while, Meera stopped the truck. “We’re close now.”

  Everyone got out and looked around. On Sonia’s computer screen, the place had seemed close to the village. But there were no buildings for miles around.

  Kayla checked her GPS.

  Meera scanned the mountainsides. “Look there! Blue sheep.”

  The children looked where she pointed. “I don’t see anything blue,” Benny said.

  “No, no. They are called blue sheep, but they are brown.” Meera crouched beside Benny and pointed. “See? Halfway up the slope.”

  “Oh, I see them.” Violet took a picture. The sheep were far away, but maybe they would show up in the photo. She zoomed in on the picture to check. “They have smaller horns than the sheep we saw yesterday. Why are they called blue sheep?”

  “They can be a gray that is almost like blue.” Meera grinned. “Also, they are not sheep. They are closer to goats.”

  Jessie pulled out her notebook and made a note. “I like when animals have names that describe them. It’s easier to remember. This time I’ll remember that they are called blue sheep because they are not blue or sheep. Thank you for showing us.”

  “Are we in the right place?” Henry asked Kayla.

  “The GPS collar went past here,” Kayla said. “First we’ll go up to the camera traps. I told Sonia I’d collect the memory cards since we’re here. Then we’ll follow the GPS track as closely as we can.”

  They headed uphill. The rocky ground was steep, and the children had to stop often to catch their breaths. Meera marched ahead like she didn’t even notice the thin air and steep slope. Every few minutes, she waited for the rest of the group.

  “It doesn’t look like such a hard hike,” Jessie said. “I just need more air!”

  “I need a snack,” Benny said. “That might give me energy.”

  Kayla chuckled. “We’ll have a snack when we get to the trail camera. It can be your reward.”

  Finally, the group got to the crevice in the rocky cliff. The crevice was steep enough that it would be hard for a person to climb. A few patches of snow remained in the deepest shadows.