The Midnight Mystery Read Free Page A

must’ve followed the drips,” Dunkum’s mom said.
    â€œSo . . . she might be somewhere up the street,” Dunkum said. “Maybe even at Abby’s house.” He started up the sidewalk.
    â€œIt’s midnight,” his mom called to him. “It’s much too late to search now.”
    â€œThat’s right,” Dad said. “Honey will be all right until morning.”
    But Dunkum was worried. Honey was trained to guide blind Ellen. Who knowswhat dangers were lurking in the midnight shadows?
    Tears stung Dunkum’s eyes. This was all his fault.

SIX
    The next morning, Dunkum hurried downstairs.
    Was Mom right? Had Honey come home for breakfast?
    He searched the front yard, then the back. Honey was nowhere to be seen.
    He ran through the neighborhood and asked each Cul-de-sac Kid if they’d seen Honey.
    Nobody had.
    â€œLet’s trace the ice-cream trail,” Abby suggested when she heard the whole story.
    The kids agreed.
    So, starting at Dunkum’s house, they counted twenty ice-cream drops to Abby’s house.
    â€œLook, you can even see Honey’s tongue marks,” said Jason.
    Eric looked closer. “Cannot.”
    â€œGotcha!” hooted Jason.
    Abby frowned, ignoring Jason. “What other clues do we have?” she asked Dunkum.
    He showed Honey’s dog collar and the ID bracelet. “This is all I found last night . . . at midnight.”
    Eric looked at the bracelet. He studied the initials. “A. H.? Maybe it belongs to Abby.”
    â€œIt’s not mine.” Abby twisted her hair. “Think of all the kids we know with those initials.”
    â€œI’ll make a list of people’s names,” Stacy offered.

    â€œGood idea,” Eric said.
    The kids split up and hopped on their bikes. Up and down the street they rode, whistling and calling for Honey. They talked to each neighbor on Blossom Hill Lane. They even checked at the Humane Society, where lost pets are kept.
    But no Honey.
    At last they followed Dunkum into his house. Ellen was having breakfast. Her eyes were red from crying.
    Dunkum raced into the kitchen. “We’re going to find Honey for you,” he said. “I promise.”
    â€œWe’ll do our detective best,” Abby said and gave Ellen a hug.
    â€œLet’s put an ad in the paper,” Dunkum said. “If someone sees Honey, we might get a phone call.”
    Abby suggested, “We could offer a reward.”
    â€œHey, good thinking. That ought tohelp,” Jason said. He held up the newspaper. “Look, here’s someone offering twenty dollars for a brown beagle.” The kids crowded around Jason.
    Stacy pulled out a pencil and a pad. “If we each give some of our allowance, we’ll have enough for a nice reward,” she said.
    â€œDon’t count Ellen,” Eric said. “It wouldn’t be fair for her to put money into a reward.”
    â€œI think twenty bucks is too cheap,” Dunkum said. “Let’s go with closer to forty.”
    So the reward for finding and returning Honey would be thirty-six dollars.
    Dunkum divided nine kids into thirty-six bucks, leaving Ellen out. “Four dollars each,” he told them.
    â€œNot bad,” said Dee Dee.
    â€œI have more than that in my piggy bank,” said Carly.
    â€œMe too,” said little Jimmy Hunter.
    â€œIt’ll be worth it to have Honey back,” Abby said. “Now, let’s decide on our ad.”

    LOST—
one golden Labrador guide dog.
Answers to Honey.
$36 reward.
Call 555-1028
or return to 233 Blossom Hill Lane .
    â€œI really hope this works,” Ellen said. She wiped her eyes.
    â€œWe all do,” said Dunkum.

SEVEN
    â€œLet’s ride our bikes to the newspaper office,” Dunkum said.
    The Cul-de-sac Kids called their good-byes to Ellen.
    On the way, they saw a dogcatcher. Dunkum cringed. Honey had lost her collar last night. What if the pound