Bicycle Mystery Read Online Free PDF

shouted Benny. But Shadow had no idea of coming back.
    Benny yelled, “I thought you were an obedient dog. Don’t you understand? Come back!”
    Shadow was not listening. He was running for dear life.
    Henry watched him for a minute. Then he said quietly, “We must follow him. We can’t lose him now.”
    The four children pedaled away until they caught up with the running dog.
    “He’ll hurt his paws, Henry,” said Violet. “Can’t you carry him?”
    “No, I don’t think I can catch him,” replied Henry. “He thinks he’s going home, that’s sure. Look at his feet go!”
    “Wait for us!” Benny called, but Shadow did not stop for an instant.
    “He’s going right for Second Landing,” Jessie said. “Mr. Martin’s store is ahead. You don’t suppose he belongs to Mr. Martin, do you?”
    “No, I don’t,” said Henry. “Mr. Martin didn’t act as if he had lost a beautiful show dog.”
    “It couldn’t be the Randalls,” Benny put in. “They didn’t act as if they had lost a dog either. I didn’t see any dog dish on the floor. And there wasn’t any doghouse in the yard.”
    “Still, Shadow acts as if Second Landing is home,” Jessie said.
    Shadow went faster and faster. He just raced along.
    “What do you know!” shouted Benny. “Look at Mr. Martin. He’s sitting on his steps. Hi, Mr. Martin!”
    The Aldens stopped their bikes. Shadow ran a little way and sat down. He was tired out.
    “The bicycle riders!” Mr. Martin exclaimed. “How was the trip? What happened?”
    Benny pointed to the dog. “That’s what happened,” he said. “He followed us all the way.”
    Then Mr. Martin saw the dog. The Aldens were astonished to see him stand up and call, “Here, Smoky! Come here, Smoky!”
    “Smoky!” Jessie exclaimed. “Do you know this dog, Mr. Martin?”
    “I should say so! That’s the Randalls’ dog.”
    “ The Randalls? ”
    “Well, he doesn’t belong to the family,” Mr. Martin said. “He belongs to Carl. His Uncle Eric gave the dog to him for his birthday. See, he wants you to come!”
    Shadow ran a little way and looked back. The Aldens got on their bikes and followed him. Now at last Shadow did not whine.
    Mr. Martin called after them, “You’ll find a happy family when they see that dog.”
    As the Aldens knew, it was not far to the Randalls’ house. The little dog barked, and Benny ran up on the porch to knock at the door.
    Mrs. Randall came to the door and took one look. “Oh, Smoky, Smoky!” she cried. She opened the door and the little dog jumped into her arms. He wiggled, squealing and whining and licking her hands.

    The Aldens stood and watched. In a minute Mrs. Randall looked up with tears in her eyes. “Oh, thank you for bringing him back,” she said. “But how did you know whose dog he was?”
    “We didn’t,” Jessie said. “It’s a long story. We have been trying to find out who owns Shadow ever since he came to us.”
    “Do come in and sit down. You see my brother Eric gave this dog to Carl for his birthday. Smoky was all trained and ready to be entered in the dog show at Ashby. We had him only a week, but we grew to love him.”
    “So did we,” said Violet.
    They all sat down and watched the dog. He was running all over the house, smelling everything and coming back to Mrs. Randall.
    “Your picture was in the paper this morning,” said Mrs. Randall. “I was sure it was Smoky standing with you. I was trying to think how to find you.”
    “I know who took that picture,” said Benny. “A man and a woman followed us and tried to get Smoky away from us. They want people to think we stole the dog. What did it say under the picture?”
    “Not very much,” said Mrs. Randall. “Just ‘Bicycle dog lost.’ Several people called me to tell me they were sure it was Carl’s dog.”
    “There! You see,” said Benny, “that is why that couple took our picture. Just to make people think we stole the dog. And we think they are the ones who pick up