The Case of the Jumping Frogs Read Online Free PDF

for safekeeping.”
    “Those two boys who were talking in the office stole Herb’s music!” Sally whispered. “It has to be! But which two?”
    “Couldn’t you tell by their voices who the thieves are, Scott?” Encyclopedia asked.
    Scott shook his head. “They were speaking too quietly,”he answered. “Without his own music, Herb doesn’t stand a chance.”
    Herb performed bravely, but clearly not well enough to win.
    The judges counted up the scores.
    Encyclopedia used the break to stroll onto the stage and over to the piano. Sally followed him.
    The boy detective studied the watches.
    Five of the watches had a minute hand and an hour hand. The sixth watch had no hands—it showed the time digitally.
    “
Hmm,
” Encyclopedia said.
    “What does
‘hmm’
mean?” Sally demanded.
    “It means I know who one of the thieves is,” Encyclopedia answered. “From him, we’ll learn the name of the other.”
    What was the clue?
    (Turn to this page for the solution to
The Case of the Air Guitar.)

The Case of the Backwards Runner

    E ncyclopedia and Sally were biking by the Grove Shopping Center when they saw a fight about to break out.
    Felix McGee and Rupert Dugan were on the sidewalk near the exit lane of the parking lot, screaming in each other’s faces.
    Oscar, a security guard, was trying to keep them from putting their fists in each other’s faces.
    It wasn’t easy. Both boys were built like barrels.
    Felix played tackle on the seventh-grade football team. Rupert was the star of the seventh-grade wrestling team.
    “Those two have never liked each other,” Sally said. “In fact, they hate each other.”
    “We’d better find out what this is about,” Encyclopedia said.
    The detectives walked their bikes onto the sidewalk.
    Felix shook his fist under Rupert’s nose. “You’re cleared for takeoff, fatso!”
    Rupert shook his fist under Felix’s jaw. “If I hit you with this, you’d better have wings that fit you.”
    Oscar was glad to see Encyclopedia and Sally. He wouldn’t have to separate the two boys by force. He let the young detectives take over.
    Felix and Rupert were glad, too. They were saved from having to make good their threats to punch each other out.
    Oscar told the detectives what had happened. A few minutes earlier, he had seen a boy palm a silver pen from a counter in Fabian’s Gift Shoppe. The boy shoved it into his pocket and legged it out of there.
    “I chased him outside,” Oscar said. “He ran from the parking lot down the exit lane to the street.”
    “You never saw the thief’s face?” Sally asked.
    “No, I saw only his back,” Oscar said. “I lost sight of him for a moment when a pickup truck drove between us. Then I saw these two boys. Both were dressed like the thief, in a white T-shirt, blue shorts, and sneakers. They were quarreling. Neither had the pen on him.”
    “That’s because I saw Felix toss something small into a pickup truck that was driving past,” Rupert said. “It must have been the pen he stole.”
    “He could have,” Oscar admitted. “I didn’t see that because the pickup truck passed between us.”
    “Felix had to get rid of it before you caught up withhim,” Rupert continued. “It was evidence. Now it’s out. He’s been living a dark and secret life—the life of a shoplifter!”

    “I didn’t steal anything. I didn’t toss anything into a truck,” Felix insisted. “Rupert did.”
    “Then why were you running?” Encyclopedia asked.
    “Because I had to be home by noon for my aunt’s birthday party. I ran because I realized it was noon and I was late.”
    “Without a watch, how did you know it was noon?” Sally said, pointing to Felix’s bare wrist.
    “I was in the bookstore when I heard the bells in the church behind the shopping center. They chime at noon,” Felix replied.
    Oscar nodded. “The church bells did chime.”
    Felix said, “My house is only three blocks away. I figured if I ran like crazy I wouldn’t be