The Puzzle in the Pond A Judy Bolton Mystery

Judy ran her fingers over the tiny, embossed Reward of Merit card as if she couldn’t bear to part with it even for the short time it would be on exhibit at the Roulsville library.

Farringdon was a much larger town than Roulsville. Actually, it was a small city and the county seat of a hilly county in northern Pennsylvania. The courthouse, tall and imposin...

“I hope the beaver dam holds better than that one just above Roulsville,” Holly commented as they started off again. “We have to pass it on the way to school. I remember how it...

“Please, Judy, come on,” Holly begged again as Judy stopped to examine more of the used furniture piled near the front of the shop. The warped and broken table had aroused her c...

“You knew Honey picked up their suitcase by mistake, didn’t you?” she asked Holly. “My, what a complicated mystery that was! We didn’t know exactly what we were looking for, and...

Judy’s unasked question was soon answered. The owner of the green car proved to be the matron of a nearby orphanage. She had been introduced as Miss Hanley, but Judy was soon ca...

“I thought there was, but maybe you’re right,” Judy admitted. “I do things on impulse. Afterwards I wonder myself why I do them. Did it seem to you that Meta Hanley left us rath...

They were out of the car now, coming as fast as they could in answer to Judy’s call. When they were near enough to be heard, Horace asked, “Did you see the beavers?” and Honey a...

Judy was trying to think of an answer to her brother’s question when she noticed the headlights of another car just over the hilltop. It was the last hill before they came down...

“If you call being half drowned in a muddy pond all right, I guess I am,” he replied, answering her last question first. The others weren’t so easy to answer.

Judy agreed with her brother. Instead of solving everything, their trip had only deepened the mystery. It was hard for her to concentrate on other things such as the library exh...

The next morning, Judy was at Holly’s door soon after Peter left with Hank Lawton in the official FBI car. The library exhibit was ready, and she hoped her pictures would be rea...

“What is it?” asked Holly, taking the pictures from Judy’s hand and flipping through them. “I see you didn’t snap any beavers, just the dam and those creepy ferns and a few ripp...

Judy and Peter set out early the next morning to take the “ghost picture,” as they both called it, to Farringdon and leave it for the experts to figure out. Judy kept the origin...

She smiled at him. “You’ll have to guess, but I’ll give you a hint. It’s something I don’t need. I already have one, and I love it dearly. You gave it to me.”

“I’m asking _you_,” Judy said, torn between sympathy and anger. Her arm was beginning to turn black and blue where the boy had held it. “You must know who was with you that nigh...

Watching the fire engines from the porch, it was easy to see which way they were going. The Beverly Inn overlooked the valley beyond the crossroads. Here and there a house and a...

“Not if he’s the man in the ghost picture. I know what _he_ was up to. I heard him swearing and muttering to himself when his back was turned. I’d rather not see his face.”

With this resolution in her mind, she found it easier to pass on the suggestion she had made to Peter. She didn’t look at Danny’s father, but spoke directly to Meta Hanley.

“Peter,” asked Judy when they were in their own car following the lighter car driven by Danny’s father, “do you think it was all a mistake? I mean about the meeting place?”

The door George Anderson chose for his hasty exit was the door to the kitchen. Peter made no move to stop him. Neither did Judy. He was stopped by what he saw when he flung open...

“It will make a hard bed, but it was the best we could do unless you want to take them home. There’s an older child helping Mrs. Alberts in the kitchen.”

“That’s a relief,” Judy said. She yawned and stretched. “Those babies made a wreck out of me,” she declared. “I thought they’d never go to sleep. And they aren’t the only ones!...

“All those people,” Judy said, laughing, as she ran up the stairs, “are Horace and Honey. They just came. Holly is here, too. She’s going to baby sit for me so Horace can drive...

“Did your boss tell you to throw that thing in the water?” Judy asked. “It’s a valuable table leg. Don’t you know the whole table’s over there in that house?” Judy waved her han...