The Trackers hadn’t gone far down the service road when a gruff voice yelled, “Hey, where do you kids think you’re going? You can’t just walk onto the golf course!”
A large, burly groundskeeper jumped out of his utility vehicle and scowled at the Trackers, then squinted his eyes and pointed right at Cooper. Cooper froze. Everyone grew silent.
“I remember you, kid. You’re the caddy that found all those golf balls in the rough by the Pump House, aren’t you? The guys in the maintenance barn are still talking about you!” laughed the groundskeeper.
Mr. C looked embarrassed while Cooper looked relieved. “Yes, Sir, that would be me! And I remember you too. It’s Mr. Niche, right?”
Mr. Niche nodded.
Suddenly the Trackers started talking all at once…But Sir…in a hurry…missing mathematician…purple chalk clues…dedication…2:00 pm…must find him…
Then Mr. C shouted over the hubbub. “It’s of the utmost importance, Sir!”
All the while Pascal was nodding frantically.
But Jamal was calm. He stepped forward and showed Mr. Niche the golf ball with the purple R. “Sir, is there anything that is purple on this golf course?”
Mr. Niche scratched his head. “Hmm…purple? Why yes there is. The pipe leading into the Pump House on the golf course is painted purple. That’s where the water is pumped up from the Raritan River. We use it to irrigate the golf greens and lawns here on Busch Campus. If a fire hydrant is painted purple instead of red, that means the water comes from the old Raritan.”
Mr. C and Maya started to sing the Rutgers Alma Mater, “On the Banks of the Old Raritan” but Gabby politely interrupted. “Nice song, Mr. C, but by my calculations, we only have 5 minutes and 27 seconds to find and solve the next clue.”
“Right, Gabby,” agreed Mr. C. “Mr. Niche, would you show us where the Golf Course Pump House is, please?”
“Follow me,” said Mr. Niche.
