The Case of the Jumping Frogs Read Online Free PDF Page B

more than a couple of minutes late. Now I’ll really be late.”
    Encyclopedia turned to Rupert. “What were you doing near the shopping center?”
    “I was jogging,” he answered. “I like to keep in shape.”
    “The shape of a watermelon,” Felix said.
    “I had jogged past the exit lane when I saw Felix running down it,” Rupert said. “I saw him toss something small and shiny into a passing truck. It must have been the pen. I stopped to see what was going on.”
    “How could you see Felix running down the exit lane?” demanded Sally. “You just said you had jogged
past
it. That means you had your back to him.”
    “I was jogging backwards when I saw Felix running,” Rupert said. “I always jog backwards when the sun is in my eyes, like today. Everything that forwards running messes up, backwards running puts right. Backwards running helps the knees and hips and is easier on the joints. But it’s tiring.”
    “You hunk of blubber!” Felix cried. “You didn’t see anything.”
    “I know what I saw,” Rupert said. “You didn’t want Oscar to find the pen on you, so you threw it into a passing truck. My eyes don’t lie.”
    “Oh, yeah?” Felix snapped. “You remind me of an ostrich. An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.”
    “Oh, yeah?” Rupert retorted. “You remind me of a starfish. A starfish
has
no brain.”
    “Encyclopedia,” Sally whispered. “What do you think? Felix could have stolen the pen and tossed it into the truck before Oscar caught up with him. Or Rupert could have stolen the pen and dumped it in the truck himself.”
    “A case about a pen is a case about words,” answered the detective. “Therefore, the boy who didn’t tell the truth is—”
    Who didn’t tell the truth,
Rupert or Felix?
    (Turn to this page for the solution to
The Case of the Backwards Runner.)

Solutions

SOLUTION TO
The Case of the
Rhyming Robber
    When Chief Brown said there were mile markers along the border of the Landsmill Highway, Encyclopedia knew where the jewelry was buried.
    The last two lines of the riddle told him.
    The line “But the first clue is in order” meant that the first number of the mile marker was forty. It is the only number in the English language whose letters are in alphabetical order.
    The second number of the mile marker was one. It is the only number in English whose letters are in reverse alphabetical order.
    Therefore, Mrs. Cushman’s jewelry was buried by or under marker forty-one.
    Chief Brown ordered a stakeout of mile marker forty-one. Six days later, The Poet was captured as he dug up Mrs. Cushman’s jewelry.

SOLUTION TO
The Case of the
Miracle Pill
    Encyclopedia realized what was stopping the water from coming out of the small hole near the bottom of the bottle.
    It was not the Antiflow pill, which was nothing but a piece of wood painted white.
    It was the bottle cap.
    Had Wilford not screwed the cap on tightly, the water would have continued to come out of the hole.
    Prove this for yourself. Do as Wilford did. Let water flow out a small hole near the bottom of a plastic bottle.
    Now press the palm of your hand over the top of the bottle or screw the cap on tightly.
    The water will stop coming out until you remove your hand or loosen the cap!
    Wilford was forced to admit the pill was a fake and stopped trying to sell Antiflow.

SOLUTION TO
The Case of the
Black Horse
    Stinky said he had become sick when his horse moved up and down on its pole. He had gone to the bench to recover.
    He had already seen Waldo carrying the bag toward the carousel. He had stood by the black horse as if preparing to mount. The black horse was three horses behind Waldo’s white one. Hence, once the carousel began to turn, Waldo was unlikely to look back and see what Stinky was up to.
    Stinky never sat on the black horse.
    When the ride started, he went straight to the bench to see what was in the bag. He was too busy reading Waldo’s essay to notice his mistake.
    But