“This is where the snow leopards like to go up and down.” Kayla crouched. “You can tell one was here. That’s leopard scat, or poop. And there’s a paw print.” She pointed at the large cat’s paw print in some dried mud. A few wisps of hair clung to the rock near it. “That’s snow leopard fur.”

  Violet took photos. If she didn’t see an actual snow leopard, at least she’d seen where one had been.

  Kayla passed out granola bars. “Take a break while I get the memory cards from the cameras and put in new ones.”

  They finished their snack and put all the wrappers in a bag so they wouldn’t blow away. Violet took some pictures of the scenery. “Look at that big bird flying over the valley.” It had a pale head and dark wings that stretched several feet wide.

  “Himalayan vulture,” Meera said. “You are lucky to see one. They’re not common.”

  “Vultures are scavengers, right?” Henry asked. “They don’t hunt like most big birds.”

  Meera nodded. “They look for carrion—animals killed by something else. They can eat meat several days old.”

  Violet wrung her hands. Seeing the vulture made her nervous for Tashi.

  Kayla returned to the group holding the memory cards for the cameras. “Let’s head down and follow the trail that Tashi’s GPS left behind.”

  Going down the slope was easier than going up. Still, they went slowly because Kayla kept pausing to check the GPS. The children looked for any sign of Tashi or another snow leopard. They didn’t see anything. The tall grass would hide paw prints, scats, and other signs.

  “There are so many places a big cat could be hiding,” Jessie said. “I wonder if we’d see one even if it was looking right at us.”

  “Probably not,” Henry said. “Remember that video Sonia showed us?”

  Jessie nodded. “We didn’t see the snow leopard until it pounced down from the ledge.”

  Benny took Jessie’s hand. He had been excited to search for the ghosts of the Himalayas, but now that they were in the wilderness, it was a little spooky.

  The group came to the valley floor.

  “Let’s spread out,” Kayla said. “The GPS says Tashi came through here, but I don’t know where exactly. The reading isn’t precise enough. If we each walk ten feet apart, we’ll cover more ground. Look for anything strange.”

  They spread out, with Kayla and Meera on each end and Henry in the middle. Everyone scanned the ground as they walked.

  Violet gasped.

  “What is it?” said Benny. “Do you see something?”

  Violet bent to grab something. She held it up to show the others. “A plastic water bottle! What’s it doing out here?”

  Kayla frowned. “You’d think tourists could carry out their garbage.”

  “I guess we’re not the first people to walk this way,” Jessie said.

  “At least we found it so we can take it back to town.” Henry put the bottle in his backpack.

  They kept going, and before long, Jessie gave a shout.

  “More garbage?” Violet asked.

  Jessie crouched in the tall grass. “I don’t think so.”

  The group gathered around, and Jessie handed the thing to Kayla.

  “It’s the GPS collar!” Kayla examined the thick collar with a small plastic box attached. “This didn’t come off by accident. Someone removed it.”

  “What does it mean?” Benny asked.

  Kayla spread her hands. “I’m not sure. Let’s get back to the research center. Maybe we can get some more data off the collar.”

  They hiked back to the truck and loaded up. The drive back was quiet. Everyone was thinking about Tashi. How had her collar come off? If someone removed it, why?

  At PAW headquarters, Sonia was working at the computer, but she quickly switched to checking the GPS data. Everyone gathered around the computer as the information loaded.

  “Here we go,” Sonia said. “Oh, well this is strange. It looks like Tashi was traveling extremely fast right before her collar turned off.”

  “Maybe it was chasing something,” said Benny.

  “Or running away,” said Jessie. “Snow leopards are very fast, aren’t they?”

  “Not this fast,” Sonia said. “A snow leopard can sprint at about forty miles per hour. However, that’s only for short distances. When they hunt, they sneak up on their prey. They don’t need to run far. This data shows the snow leopard picking up speed as it went through the valley. A snow leopard would never run that far at that speed.”

  “What could it mean?” Jessie wondered.

  Benny leaned over the desk. “Maybe we found the world’s fastest snow leopard!”

  “I wish!” Sonia rubbed a hand over her mouth. “I’m afraid the truth is something worse.”

  “Maybe the cat was in a vehicle,” Henry said. “We were going pretty fast in Meera’s truck as we left the valley.”

  Sonia glanced at him. “That would explain it, and I can’t think of anything else that would. The collar traveled at high speed for almost a mile. Then it stood in place for ten minutes before it stopped working altogether.”

  Henry frowned. “Someone must have caught Tashi. They drove for a little way with the snow leopard in their truck. Then they stopped, took off the collar, and left it behind so they couldn’t be tracked.”

  Kayla put her hands to her cheeks. “This is terrible. I can’t believe it happened here under my watch. I shouldn’t have gone to Leh.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Sonia said. “I was right here in town, and I couldn’t stop it. We can’t follow the snow leopards around at all times. For one thing, we’d never keep up! For another, we don’t want to bother them or change their behavior.”

  Kayla rubbed her eyes. “I know you’re right. I still feel terrible about this.” She pulled a chair next to Sonia’s, and they talked about what to do next.

  Henry waved his siblings to the other side of the room. “We should let them work,” he told them.

  “Now I feel bad,” said Jessie. “Kayla only came to Leh to pick us up.”

  “You heard Sonia,” Henry replied. “It wouldn’t have helped to be here. Anyway, we can’t go back and change that. The question is, what can we do now?”

  “Do you think that herder man did this?” Benny asked. “Praveer seemed nice, but he didn’t like snow leopards. If he thought Tashi killed his animals, he might want to get rid of her.”

  “He did say he ‘was taking care of it,’” said Henry. “I wonder what he meant by that.”

  Jessie pulled out her notebook and looked at the notes she’d taken. “What about Meera? She said she could make more money by starting a zoo. At first, I thought she was joking, but what if she decided that was a good idea? She might have captured Tashi to show to tourists.”

  Henry thought about it. “She picked us up in Leh, but that was the day after Tashi’s collar stopped working. Meera has the big truck that can drive out in that area, and she has a lot of experience with snow leopards. She’d know how to find one and maybe how to catch it. She would just need a tranquilizer.”

  “Why wouldn’t they take off the collar right away?” Jessie wondered.

  “They might have lured Tashi into a cage with meat,” Henry said. “The meat would have the tranquilizer in it. Once she was inside, they could drive away, but they couldn’t take off the collar until she fell asleep from eating the tranquilizer.”

  Violet sniffled. “Whatever has happened, I hope Tashi hasn’t been hurt.”

  All the children nodded. “Don’t give up hope,” Henry said. “Kayla and Sonia are working to figure out what happened. We’ll think about it too. We can look around the village and ask questions. If Meera is up to something, maybe someone saw something.”

  “Let’s go,” said Benny. “I want to save Tashi.”

  “Me too,” said Violet. “This is bigger than a mystery. It’s a mission to save an endangered animal.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Out and About

  The children walked through the village toward the lodge. On the way, they caught up with a small cart pulled by a donkey. Henry glanced into the cart as they passed. It held a jumble of scrap metal and tools.

  The cart’s owner turned as they reached him, and they saw that it was Praveer. They greeted him, and Violet and Benny went to pet the donkey.

  “Children!” He grinned, but his smile faded as he studied the faces of Henry and Jessie. “What is this? You look sad. Are you not enjoying your time in my beautiful homeland?”

  “It’s not that,” Jessie said quickly. “It is beautiful. We got to go up the valley today. We saw the monasteries and blue sheep and even a vulture.”

  “That is good,” Praveer said. “But I can tell something is not right.”

  “We’re okay.” Jessie tried to smile. “Just tired. We’re not used to the thin air up here.”

  Praveer nodded. “I have heard this is a problem for foreigners. I do not understand it myself. I have never been farther than Leh. But you Westerners have so much of everything—even air to breathe!”

  “We’ll feel better after lunch,” Henry said.

  “Yes!” Benny gave a little bounce. “We’ll have a yummy lunch, and then we can work on our mystery.”

  Praveer looked confused. “What is this mystery?”

  “Tashi is missing,” Benny said. “She’s a snow leopard. We think someone kidnapped her.”

  “Kidnapped?” Praveer asked. “I do not know this word.”

  “We think someone caught her and took her away in a truck,” Henry explained.

  “Oh my,” Praveer said. “That is bad news, but it does happen. Snow leopards are worth a lot of money. Some people still hunt them for their fur.”

  “Isn’t that illegal?” Henry asked.

  Praveer bobbed his head. “The law does not stop everyone. Yes, I’m sure that is what happened. Someone must have killed this leopard for its fur. I am sorry it happened, but it is one less problem for me.” He gave the children a nod and went on his way.

  The children clustered together and watched him walk away. Jessie did not think Praveer sounded very upset about Tashi going missing. And she was surprised at how sure he was that the culprit was after Tashi’s fur. Then she noticed something in the back of his cart. “Do you see that?” she whispered. “I think he has an animal trap!”

  The trap looked like rusty metal jaws that could snap closed.

  Violet gasped. “That would really hurt any animal that got caught in it.” She lowered her voice. “Do you think he might have something to do with Tashi going missing?”

  Jessie took notes on what had just happened. “His reaction was suspicious,” she said. “He doesn’t seem to care about snow leopards the way we do.”

  “I guess as a farmer, he thinks about things differently,” Henry said. “Just like Oliver and Meera do.”

  It was hard to imagine life herding animals in the high mountains. The children had never faced challenges like that. When they had lived in the boxcar, they’d had to find their own food, and Henry had sometimes worried they wouldn’t find enough. But they’d never really gone hungry. They had only lived in the woods for a while, in summer. Praveer needed enough food to get his family through long winters in the mountains.

  Henry thought about the challenges the herder faced. “His livestock have a purpose. He uses them for milk and wool and sometimes meat. They’re not pets. They are his job, and he has to protect his job.”

  “That’s no excuse for hurting a snow leopard!” Violet cried.

  “No,” Henry said. “I’m only trying to understand how he might think.”

  “What should we do?” Jessie asked. “If he did capture Tashi, we may be too late to help her. We might never find out what happened to her.”

  They all thought for a minute. “Let’s find Oliver,” Henry said. “He’s here to help the snow leopards. Maybe him or his group has some more information about what happened to Tashi.”

  “He’s not staying at our lodge,” Jessie said. “How will we find him?”

  Henry looked around. “It’s a small village. There can’t be very many places for people to stay.”

  The children stopped at some local shops and asked where visitors usually stayed. Not everyone spoke much English. The children wound up pointing and gesturing. It was like a game where they had to act out what they meant and hope people understood.

  Finally, after talking to several people, they learned where Oliver might be staying. Besides the lodge, a home at the end of the village rented rooms. The children headed there and found a sign that said Ladakh Mountain Homestay.

  “This must be the place.” Henry knocked on the door.

  No one answered.

  “He must be out,” Henry said. “I’m surprised no one at all is home.”

  Benny went to the window and stood on his toes, trying to look in. “It’s dark in there.”

  Jessie joined him. “The curtains are closed, but there’s a little gap. I don’t see anyone.”

  “Hey!” The shout came from behind them. They turned to see Oliver hurrying toward them. He stopped and panted for breath. His face was red. He must have been having trouble with the higher altitude too.

  “Oh, it’s you,” Oliver said when he got close. “What are you doing looking in our window?”

  Benny grabbed Jessie’s hand. Oliver looked upset.

  “Looking for you,” Henry answered.

  Jessie squeezed Benny’s hand. “This is like a hotel, right?” she asked. “We thought the front room would be a lobby. We weren’t trying to spy on anyone’s room.”

  “Well…okay,” Oliver grumbled. “But why did you want to find me?”

  “You know Kayla was tracking some of the local snow leopards, right?” Henry asked.

  “Of course,” Oliver said. “I think it’s terrible. No animal should have to wear a GPS collar.”

  “I’m pretty sure the collars don’t hurt the animals,” Henry said. “Anyway, a couple of days ago, one of the collars stopped working. We found it yesterday out in the valley. We think someone caught the snow leopard, Tashi, and took her away.”

  “Oh. Right.” Oliver was no longer gasping, but his face was still pink. “Terrible thing—someone catching the snow leopard.”

  Henry was surprised Oliver didn’t seem more upset. “You already heard about it?” he asked.

  “I heard about the GPS.” Oliver took a deep breath. “I figured it was a poacher. They sell the animals, you know. Snow leopards are worth a lot of money.” He paused for another big breath. “I’m sure that’s what happened. It’s a shame, but we can’t do anything about it now.”

  “There must be something we can do!” Violet didn’t want to believe they were too late to help. “Maybe the snow leopard is still somewhere close by.”

  Oliver shook his head. “That animal is long gone, I’m afraid. It proves people are the cats’ biggest problem. That’s why my friends and I are here. We’ve been trying to talk to the local people, but they aren’t interested. They don’t even try to understand.”

  “Do you have a translator?” Henry asked. “Some of the locals don’t speak much English.”

  Oliver shrugged and mumbled something. “We’re doing important work. We’re making a video about the situation. We’re going to use it to spread awareness and stop this kind of thing from happening in the future.”

  “That’s great,” Jessie said, “but what about now? Tashi might be out there still. She might need our help.”

  “Sorry, kids.” Oliver crossed his arms. “I don’t know what else to tell you. Try to convince your friend Kayla to stop doing research on snow leopards. That’s probably why this happened, you know?”

  Henry scratched his head. “You think poachers got Tashi because PAW is doing research?” he asked. “I don’t understand.”

  “Well, I mean…” Oliver trailed off. He pulled off his mittens and scratched one hand with the other. “People need to stay away from the snow leopards. You don’t want them to get used to people. We should leave them entirely alone.”

  One of Oliver’s hands was wrapped in a bulky bandage. It hadn’t been that way during the drive to the village. Violet pointed at the hand. “What happened?”

  Oliver tucked the injured hand under his other arm. “Oh, nothing. I slipped and cut it. I was climbing an icy slope, but I’ll be fine. Well, I have to get going.” He turned and headed back the way he’d come.

  The children watched as he hurried away, just like he had the night before.

  “He gets hurt a lot,” Benny said. “He must be unlucky.”

  “Or clumsy,” Henry said. “He seemed pretty distracted. Maybe he doesn’t pay attention to what he’s doing.”

  “He’s the opposite of Praveer,” Violet said. “Praveer is cheerful and happy to see us, but he doesn’t care about snow leopards. Oliver cares about snow leopards, but he’s always rushing and is kind of rude.”

  Jessie was hoping Oliver would help them figure out what was happening. Instead, he only gave them more questions. “Now what?” she asked.

  “I wish we knew what happened in that valley,” said Violet. “I wish we could go back in time and see it for ourselves.”

  Henry brightened. “Violet, that’s brilliant!”

  Benny was confused. “Are you saying we should go back in time?” he asked.

  Henry smiled. “In a matter of speaking, yes. I’ll explain on the way back to the research center. I think I know how we can find out what happened to Tashi.”

  CHAPTER 7

  A Call for Help

  Back at the research center, Kayla and Sonia were leaning back in their chairs.

  “I just don’t know—” Sonia broke off in the middle of her sentence as the children came in.

  Kayla managed to smile, though she still didn’t look happy. “Back so soon? Did you get lunch?”

  Benny stepped forward and spoke firmly. “This is even more important than lunch!”

  Kayla’s eyebrows went up. “Then it must be pretty important.”