The Mudhole Mystery (5 page)

His dad was sitting on the front steps. He looked up from his newspaper. “Are you hungry?”

“Sure am,” said Dunkum.

His dad put the newspaper away.

“Were you doing today's crossword puzzle?” asked Dunkum.

His dad nodded. “You know me well.” He stuck the pencil above his ear. “Your mom's cooking hot dogs. Let's go eat.”

Dunkum dashed up the steps.

“Whoa, just a minute.” His dad had
spotted the muddy clothes and shoes. Hands too. “Where have
you
been?”

“Uh, just digging,” Dunkum admitted.

“In mud? Better go wash up.” His dad pointed to the garden hose.

Dunkum clumped to the side of the house. This was the second time today.

When he went inside for lunch, his mom frowned. “Why must you play in the mud?”

“Don't be hard on him, dear,” Dunkum's dad said. “I did the same thing when I was a kid.”

“I'll go change my clothes,” Dunkum offered.

“Please don't track mud!” his mom called.

“I'll be careful,” Dunkum said, tiptoeing downstairs.

He headed for the washroom. Dirty clothes were piled up. Saturday was
not
their wash day.

Finally, Dunkum was cleaned up. He
headed back to the kitchen. The table was set. The hot dogs and baked beans smelled great.

His mom asked about the muddy mess. But Dunkum didn't tell much about the mystery. Or the time capsule.

His parents were grown-ups. They'd forgotten what it was like to be a kid. Dunkum was sure of it!

ELEVEN

After lunch, Dunkum's dad returned to his newspaper. Word puzzles were one of his favorite hobbies.

Dunkum's favorites were shooting hoops and digging in the mud.

Today basketball came in second. Dunkum had something else to do. He wanted to see the time capsule again.

And he had an idea. A great idea!

Dunkum hurried around to the Hunters' backyard.

The time capsule was still there.

Abby, Shawn, and Carly Hunter had just finished lunch. They were outside looking in the chest. They pulled out many objects, looking and talking.

“We need to have another meeting,” Dunkum said.

“Oh, hi, Dunkum.” Abby turned around. “What's the meeting about?”

“About that.” Dunkum pointed to the chest. “Let's make an exhibit.”

“You mean like a museum or something?” Abby asked.

“Sure, why not?”

“Should we charge money?” Abby asked.

Dunkum walked over to the chest. “Yes. We could use the money for something special. For our club.”

Jimmy was counting the rock collection in Korean.

Carly was trying on the pretty watch.

“This stuff is ancient history,” said
Dunkum. “It's twenty years old, at least.”

Abby nodded. “I see what you mean.”

“When the rest of the kids come back, we'll decide,” he said.

Abby grinned. “It's an excellent idea.”

Dunkum leaned over and pulled out the old Sherlock Holmes book. “I still can't believe this was in here.”

Abby asked, “How did you know about Mysteries Are Marvelous Day?”

Dunkum told her about his grandma's holiday book. “It has all kinds of special days listed.”

“Like what?” Abby asked.

“Oh, let's see.” Dunkum thought for a second. “There's the birthday of basketball.”

“You're kidding.”

“Nope.”

“When is it?” Abby asked.

“January fifteenth,” Dunkum replied happily. “Back in the year 1892.”

“Wow,” she said. “What else?”

“Children's Day is May fifth,” he said. “It's a national holiday in Korea and Japan. In honor of all children.”

Shawn perked up his ears. “Yes, I know that. It is true what Dunkum say.”

“Your grandma's book sounds cool,” Abby said.

“I'll ask her to bring it sometime,” Dunkum said.

Just then Jason came in the gate. Soon, Stacy and Dee Dee were back. All the Cul-de-sac Kids were present. Except Eric.

“Let's talk about your idea,” Abby said to Dunkum.

“OK,” he agreed and he began to tell the kids.

“I like museums,” Stacy said. “This is a terrific idea.”

Dee Dee and Carly thought the idea was silly.

“Who would pay to see all this junk?” Carly asked.

“You might be surprised,” Dunkum said. “And it's not junk!”

Carly twirled her hair. “I'd rather ride bikes any day.”

Dee Dee didn't say much. “If it makes money, that's good, I guess.”

Jason wanted to be in charge of snack food. “Who wants to help me?”

“Wait a minute,” Abby said. “We haven't voted yet.”

“Let's wait for Eric,” Dunkum said. “We don't want him to feel left out.”

So they waited. And waited.

It was almost two o'clock. Eric still wasn't back.

“Oh, well, we can vote tomorrow,” Jason said.

“Tomorrow's Sunday,” Abby said.

“OK, we'll vote after church,” said Dunkum.

It was settled. They'd have a meeting and vote tomorrow.

Dunkum couldn't wait.

He thought about the vote. All through supper he thought about it. And during his shower.

There were five boys and four girls. One of them might be a tie-breaker.

Would his great idea fall flat?

TWELVE

After church was dinner. Dunkum had to go home and eat. So did the other kids.

There was no time for a club meeting or the vote. Dunkum had to wait a little longer.

He poked at his dinner.

“Is something wrong?” Dunkum's mother asked.

He was silent.

“Dunkum?” his dad asked.

Finally, he looked up. “Have you ever had a great idea?”

“Lots of times,” said his dad.

“When you were a kid?” Dunkum asked.

“Sure.” His dad chuckled. “Why do you ask?”

Dunkum sighed. “Did you ever have to wait?”

His mother frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Did your friends have to decide if it was a good idea?”

Dunkum's dad nodded his head. “Sometimes, I guess.”

“Then you must've had lots of friends,” Dunkum said.

“You can say that again!”

“Well, I like discovering things by myself.” Dunkum was thinking about his muddy discovery. “I'm not so sure if having lots of friends is good.”

His parents stopped eating. They were staring at him.

Finally, his mother spoke. “You are the
only child in our family. Is that why you feel this way?”

Dunkum nodded. “Maybe.”

“Let me tell you something,” his dad said. “A block full of friends can be good. Sometimes not.”

Dunkum listened.

“I grew up with three brothers and two sisters,” his dad explained. “We were a kid's club all by ourselves.”

Dunkum scratched his head. He couldn't imagine that many in the family.

“Six kids and two parents,” his dad said. “Sometimes Mom and Dad would pile us in the car. We liked to visit our uncle and aunt. They had three kids.”

“That's a lot of kids all together!” Dunkum said.

His dad looked around the kitchen. “Can you imagine all of us eating here?”

Dunkum blinked his eyes. “You mean, right here? In Mom's kitchen?”

“Yep, this house belonged to Uncle Joe.
We came here in the summers.”

“A long time ago?” Dunkum asked.

His mother nodded. “Your father was eight the very first summer.”

Dunkum laughed. It was hard to imagine. His dad had once been a kid. Long, long ago.

Eric showed up late for the meeting. “The dentist found
two
cavities yesterday,” he explained.

“Are you better now?” Abby asked.

Eric nodded. “What did I miss?”

Carly piped up. “Oh, nothing much.”

Dee Dee smiled a sly grin.

Dunkum tried to ignore Dee Dee and Carly. They were being a pain.

Today he was eager. He explained his idea to
all
the kids this time.

When he was finished, Abby called for the vote. “How many want to make a display of the time capsule?” she asked.

Four hands shot up. Then one more.

“It's to raise money for our club,” Jason said.

“No fair trying to get extra votes,” Abby said.

Slowly, Eric and Stacy raised their hands.

But Dee Dee and Carly kept theirs down. Without them, the vote had passed.

Abby cheered. So did Dunkum and Jason.

“We're gonna have the best time capsule exhibit ever!” Dunkum said.

Six days later, everything was ready.

The display was the hottest thing around!

Kids from Blossom Hill School came. So did cousins of the Cul-de-sac Kids. Lots of parents came, too.

Stacy showed her mom the old watch. And the Sunday school lesson.

Shawn and Jimmy showed their parents the rock collection. Abby and Carly showed the crushed wild flowers.

Dunkum's parents seemed to enjoy themselves, too.