Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Treasure Hunt Read Free

juvenile delinquents,” Bugs declared. He clasped his hands over his heart and inhaled deeply. “Ah, how I long for some quiet place to paint, a place where the hand of man has never set foot.”
    “You talk worse than you draw, Bugs,” Encyclopedia said. “I can prove you’re trying to frame us!”
    WHAT WAS THE PROOF?
    (Turn to this page for the solution to
The Case of Bugs’s Zebra.)

The Case of the Treasure Hunt
    E very July 9, the town of Idaville celebrated Founders Day. The big event for children was the treasure hunt.
    The hunt always began at a glass display case in the main library. The display case housed the diary of Samuel Dowdy. He had helped found Idaville.
    Encyclopedia and Sally joined the other children waiting for the hunt to begin. Everyone knew the rules. Nevertheless, Mr. McPherson, the hunt director, went over them thoroughly.
    This year, he said, the clues were hidden atfive checkpoints. Each clue told where the next checkpoint was. Hunt officials made sure every boy and girl reached every checkpoint and found the clue there. No one could cheat by simply following the leaders.
    A red card was hidden at the fifth and last checkpoint. On it were written two words: “You Won.”
    “The winner’s prize this year is a racing bicycle,” Mr. McPherson announced. “Here is your first clue.”
    He read from a piece of paper. “Go to Clarson. Hurry up and get the lead out of your gas.”
    “That must mean the next clue is hidden at Dan’s Service Station on Clarson Avenue,” Sally whispered to Encyclopedia.
    The detectives moved quickly toward the front door of the library. Mr. McPherson stopped them.
    “I must see you at once,” he said in a low, worried tone. He led Encyclopedia and Sally to a corner.
    There he explained his concern. An hour ago, as he hid the clues, he sensed someone watching him.
    “Whoever it was,” he said, “knows thecheckpoints and the clues. He or she is sure to win.”
    Mr. McPherson looked at Encyclopedia steadily.
    “I don’t want to go to the police,” he continued. “It would spoil the treasure hunt.”
    Encyclopedia nodded in agreement. “You want us to find the cheater?” he asked.
    “And keep it quiet,” Mr. McPherson cautioned. “I understand you are good at such matters. Will you help?”
    “I’ll do my best,” Encyclopedia replied, though it meant withdrawing from the treasure hunt. “What is the final clue? The one that leads to the card with ‘You Won’ written on it?”
    “ ‘Look beneath the best-known dairy in town,’ ” Mr. McPherson replied.
    “That’s too easy,” Sally complained. “There is only one dairy in town, the office building of the Johnson Dairy Company.”
    “Yes, but what most people don’t know is that there is a little four-car garage below the building,” Mr. McPherson said. “You enter it from a side alley. The card ‘You Won’ is tucked behind the windshield wiper of a pickup truck.”

    Encyclopedia closed his eyes in thought. When he opened them, he said, “All we have to do is move the card from the underground garage to a new place.”
    “But that will mean changing the wording of the last clue,” protested Mr. McPherson.
    “Exactly,” Encyclopedia said. “But it’s important that the cheater doesn’t notice the change. If he does, he’ll be frightened off. We’ll never know who he is.”
    “Or who
she
is,” Sally said tartly.
    Encyclopedia accepted the correction with a smile. To Mr. McPherson he said, “You only have to switch two letters in the clue that leads to the Johnson Dairy Company and the ‘You Won’ card.”
    Encyclopedia whispered the two letters into Mr. McPherson’s ear and told him where to hide the “You Won” card.
    “By George, young man,” Mr. McPherson exclaimed. “That is brilliant!”
    Mr. McPherson shook hands with the detectives and went off to set the trap. He had to rewrite the last clue and put a new “You Won” card where Encyclopedia had