The Mudhole Mystery (6 page)

“What a wonderful idea, son,” Dunkum's dad said.

“Thanks.”

Suddenly, his dad stopped. Right in front of the giant word puzzle book.

“What's wrong?” Dunkum asked.

His dad picked up the book and looked inside. He began to laugh. “This is
my
writing!”

“Yours?” Dunkum said. “How could that be?”

“Where did you find this stuff?” his dad asked.

“In Mr. Tressler's backyard.”

Dunkum's father nodded his head, laughing. “Well, that makes sense.”

Dunkum was confused. “Are you saying
you
buried the time capsule?”

“My brothers and cousins buried it. And so did I.” He grinned at Dunkum. “It was one of my great ideas.”

Dunkum couldn't wait to tell his friends. He ran around the exhibit telling them. Mr. Tressler, too.

“What about the Sherlock Holmes book?” Mr. Tressler asked. “Did it belong to your father?”

“I'll ask,” Dunkum said.

He found his dad counting the rock collection. Jimmy Hunter was counting, too. In Korean.

“What other stuff is yours?” Dunkum asked his dad.

“The crossword puzzle book and this.” He pointed to the colorful rocks.

“What about the rest?” Dunkum asked.

His dad had to think. “The baseball glove was Uncle Joe's. He never knew what happened to it. The rest of the stuff belonged to my cousins and brothers.”

“Not your sisters?” Dunkum asked.

“You know how some girls are about a great idea,” he said. “Mostly a muddy one.”

Dunkum understood.

He glanced at Dee Dee and Carly across the yard. They'd voted against him. Now they were helping Jason at the snack table.

Dunkum thought,
I'll invite them to make mud pies tomorrow
.

And that's what he did.

THE CUL-DE-SAC KIDS SERIES
Don't miss #11!

FIDDLESTICKS

It's soccer season for the Blossom Hill Blitzers. Shawn Hunter is much smaller than the other boys, but he's speedy. And he's dying to make the team.

Some of the kids call him “Fiddlesticks” because he brings his violin to after-school practice. And because his legs are “skinny as sticks.”

Secretly, Shawn works out at home, trying to develop a few muscles. He weighs and measures himself every day for two weeks. The Cul-de-sac Kids help, too.

Can Shawn possibly make the team? Or will steady teasing at school mess him up during tryouts?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Beverly Lewis liked to dig in the dirt when she was a girl. A favorite place was the alley behind her house. Once she found an old coin from India. Another time she found a 1903 two-cent piece. “But the digging was the most fun,” she says.

Now Beverly enjoys writing books for all ages. Some stories are based on her growing-up years in Pennsylvania.

Do you like to laugh out loud and solve mysteries, too? Then THE CUL-DE-SAC KIDS is the series for you!

Also by Beverly Lewis

Adult Nonfiction

Amish Prayers
The Beverly Lewis Amish Heritage Cookbook

Adult Fiction

Home to Hickory Hollow

The Fiddler • The Bridesmaid

Seasons of Grace

The Secret • The Missing • The Telling

Abram's Daughters

The Covenant • The Betrayal • The Sacrifice • The Prodigal • The Revelation

Annie's People

The Preacher's Daughter • The Englisher • The Brethren

The Rose Trilogy

The Thorn • The Judgment • The Mercy

The Courtship of Nellie Fisher

The Parting • The Forbidden • The Longing

The Heritage of Lancaster County

The Shunning • The Confession • The Reckoning

Other Adult Fiction

The Postcard • The Crossroad • The Redemption of Sarah Cain • October Song • Sanctuary
*
• The Sunroom

Youth Fiction

Girls Only (GO!) Volume One and Volume Two
†
SummerHill Secrets Volume One and Volume Two
†
Holly's Heart Collection One
‡
, Collection Two
‡
,
and Collection Three
†

www.BeverlyLewis.com

*with David Lewis    †4 books in each volume    ‡5 books in each volume