The Mudhole Mystery
Read The Mudhole Mystery Online
Authors: Beverly Lewis
Beverly Lewis Books for Young Readers
P
ICTURE
B
OOKS
In Jesse's Shoes  â¢Â Just Like Mama
What Is God Like?  â¢Â What Is Heaven Like?
T
HE
C
UL-DE-SAC
K
IDS
The Double Dabble Surprise
The Chicken Pox Panic
The Crazy Christmas Angel Mystery
No Grown-ups Allowed
Frog Power
The Mystery of Case D. Luc
The Stinky Sneakers Mystery
Pickle Pizza
Mailbox Mania
The Mudhole Mystery
Fiddlesticks
The Crabby Cat Caper
Tarantula Toes
Green Gravy
Backyard Bandit Mystery
Tree House Trouble
The Creepy Sleep-Over
The Great TV Turn-Off
Piggy Party
The Granny Game
Mystery Mutt
Big Bad Beans
The Upside-Down Day
The Midnight Mystery
Katie and Jake and the Haircut Mistake
© 1997 by Beverly Lewis
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansâelectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwiseâwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-6072-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Cover illustration by Paul Turnbaugh
Story illustrations by Janet Huntington
For Emily,
who likes to make
muddy messes,
mostly in
Minnesota.
Contents
Beverly Lewis Books for Young Readers
ONE
Splash, splish. Ooey, gooey
.
Globs of mud mashed between Dunkum's fingers. He pressed his hands deep into the dirt. Digging for treasure was a great way to spend a Saturday.
Dunkum's real name was Edward Mifflin. His friends called him Dunkum. He was very tall. And the best basketball player around.
Basketball was the last thing on Dunkum's mind, today. He was dreaming of gold gems and jewels. Maybe the pirate kind.
Today was May twenty-second. A special day. His grandma's holiday book called it: Mysteries Are Marvelous Day.
Dunkum loved mysteries. Today was a good day to dig for one. Gold or jewels. Anything would do!
He really didn't know if there was gold in the hole. But it didn't matter. He loved the ooshy-gooshy feel.
What a messy, mucky hole it wasâa giant one. It was the biggest mudhole in the world. Well, in the cul-de-sac.
Suddenly, Dunkum's fingers touched something slimy. Out of the goosh, he pulled a long, skinny worm.
“Maybe I should save this creepy creature for Stacy Henry. She hates worms.”
“Says who?” someone called behind him.
Dunkum looked around.
Stacy was standing there, grinning.
Gulp
.
“Oh, hi,” he said. Dunkum tossed the worm back into the muddy brown pudding.
Burp!
The mudhole belched right there in Mr. Tressler's backyard.
“You were talking to yourself, weren't you?” Stacy asked.
Dunkum didn't answer.
“I heard you.” Stacy stared at him, then at the mudhole. “What a horrible mess.”
Dunkum pulled out a mound of mud. “Care for a glob of pudding?”
Stacy shook her head. “I hate dirt. Messes too.”
“No kidding,” Dunkum whispered. He threw the mud back into the hole.
Splat!
“Remember Pet Day?” Dunkum said. “Remember when Jason's bullfrog landed on your lap?”
Stacy twisted her blond hair. “So what?”
Dunkum continued. “You had to go wash the froggy feel off your hands. That's
what.” He laughed about it.
“It's not nice to dig up the past,” Stacy said.
Dunkum stuck his hands back into the mud bubble. Deeper and deeper into the gloppy bog he pushed.
He was up to his funny bones on both arms. No one tickled his funny bone and got away with it. But something was definitely thumping his left elbow. And it wasn't a tickle. It was a bumpity-muddy-bump.
“Hey!” he hollered at the mudhole. “Quit that.”
Stacy laughed at him. “Now, who are you talking to?”
“The mudhole, that's who.” Dunkum hit the oozy-goozy mud again.
There was definitely something there. Something big.
Dunkum's eyes grew wide. “Hey! Maybe I've found a mystery!” He pulled and sputtered. His face turned hot purple.
Stacy stepped back. She sure didn't want to get her new outfit dirty. Or her sneakers. “What is it?” she asked.
Dunkum's eyes were slits. His lips flattened out. “A mystery in a mudhole,” he whispered.
He was thinking of pirates and treasure. Maybe gold!
What
was
in the mudhole?
TWO
Dunkum stirred the mud around. He swirled and mixed it. He struggled against the hard lump.
“Maybe it's a dinosaur bone,” he said.
“Cool!” Stacy said. “We could put it on display. Maybe start up a museum.”
Just then the mudhole gobbled up Dunkum's arms.
Stacy yelled, “I can't see your elbows!”
Dunkum grunted and shoved. His face was down close to the mud. “The lump is too big. I need a shovel.”