The Mystery of Case D. Luc (3 page)

FIVE

Dunkum leaned closer to the window. He watched for the slightest movement in his backyard. But no one was hiding in the bushes.

Then Dunkum had an idea. He would call Dee Dee Winters. She might know something. After all, she had the best view of his house. And . . . she had stayed home from church.

Dee Dee answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Have you seen anybody hanging around my house today?” Dunkum asked.

“Nope.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“I'm sure,” Dee Dee said.

“Well, you better lock your doors.”

“How come?”

“Because there's a thief in the cul-de-sac.”

Dee Dee gasped. “A thief! That's horrible!”

“Yes, and he robbed my house while we were at church,” he said. “I better warn the rest of the kids.” Dunkum said goodbye and hung up the phone.

Next, he called Jason, who lived next door to Dee Dee.

Br-r-ring!

“Hello?” Jason answered.

“Hey, Jason, you'd better keep your doors locked. There's a thief in the cul-de-sac.”

“A what?” Jason yelled into the phone.

“A thief,” Dunkum said. “And he just left my house!”

“How do you know?” Jason asked.

“He stole my new basketball,” Dunkum said. “The one my uncle got for me from David Robinson.”

Jason started laughing.

“Hey! It's not funny,” Dunkum said.

“I know, I know,” Jason said. “It's just so weird.”

“How could the thief know where I hid it?” Dunkum said.

“It's real creepy,” Jason whispered. Then he paused. “Hey, wait! I'm looking out my window. There's something blue stuck on your basketball pole.”

Dunkum dropped the phone and ran outside. Jason was right! Dunkum peeled the blue paper off the pole. A bunch of dots and lines scampered across the page.

It looked like a secret code.

Who put it here?
Dunkum wondered.

Then he saw a strange name at the bottom. Someone had signed it: CASE D. LUC.

“That's weird,” Dunkum said out loud. “I don't know anyone by that name.” He stared at the blue paper. There was some writing at the top. It said: IF YOU WANT YOUR BASKETBALL BACK, CRACK THIS CODE.

Dunkum stomped his foot. “Nothin's gonna stop me from getting my basketball back!” he shouted.

SIX

Dunkum saw Jason coming across the street. “Look at this!” Dunkum shouted. He waved the blue paper at his friend.

Jason pushed up his glasses and looked at the code. “I think it's the Morse Code.”

Dunkum scratched his head. He studied the name at the bottom. “Who in the world is Case D. Luc?”

“This is crazy,” Jason said.

“Can you help me crack the code?” Dunkum asked.

Jason shook his head. He had to go home for dinner. “Look in your encyclopedia,” he called over his shoulder.

Rushing inside, Dunkum grabbed the encyclopedia. He found the page with the Morse alphabet:

Dunkum studied the dots and dashes on the blue paper. (Can you crack the code before Dunkum does?)

Signed,
Case D. Luc

Dunkum found a pencil and began filling in the letters. It was easy. He could read the entire message. If his basketball was truly safe, that was good. But waiting till tomorrow for the next clue? That
wasn't good. Where would he find a gate—with a chalk mark?

Boom-a-bang!
Thunder shook the house.

“Oh no!” cried Dunkum. “Not rain!” The chalk mark on the gate—wherever it was—might wash off.

What then?

SEVEN

The next day was Monday.

Dunkum woke up and reached for his basketball. He had forgotten it was gone. Sadly, Dunkum rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He ran to the window and looked out.

It was still raining!

Dunkum trudged downstairs. How would he find a chalk mark in the rain? His next clue depended on it!

After school, the rain had stopped.
Dunkum wasn't going to walk home with the Cul-de-sac Kids. Not today. He had an important mission to accomplish. A secret mission!

At home, Dunkum grabbed his after-school snack. Then he dashed outside to search for a gate. But where?

Dunkum knew of only one gate in the whole cul-de-sac. It was in Mr. Tressler's backyard. He was the old man who lived at the end of Blossom Hill Lane. The Cul-de-sac Kids had welcomed Mr. Tressler to the neighborhood last Christmas. Now he wasn't lonely anymore.

Dunkum headed for Mr. Tressler's house. He ran past Dee Dee's house. And Jason's. And Eric's.

At last he came to the end of the cul-de-sac. Marching up the steps, Dunkum headed for Mr. Tressler's doorbell. He rang it twice.

“Hello there, young man,” the old gentleman said.

“Good afternoon,” Dunkum said politely. “May I please look for something in your backyard?”

The man's face wrinkled into a smile. “Be my guest.”

Dunkum thanked him and sprinted to the backyard. He headed for Mr. Tressler's back gate and searched for a chalk mark. There was no X mark near the latch. There was no X mark on either side of the gate.

Dunkum knelt in the damp grass. Then he spotted something. It was a chalky white X. “Yes!” he shouted.

Now where was the clue? Dunkum spotted an old flowerpot. Something was sticking out of the dirt. He pulled at it. But it was only a curled-up leaf.

But wait! Dunkum could see something yellow peeking out of the leaf. He opened it and found another code hidden inside.

Staring at the yellow paper, Dunkum
gulped. “There's no way I'll figure out
this
code,” he said out loud.

“What's that you say?”

Dunkum stood up.

Mr. Tressler was calling to him from his deck. “What did you find out there?”

Dunkum ran across the yard with the yellow paper. Mr. Tressler looked puzzled when he saw the code. It was a bunch of strange shapes and symbols.

Then Dunkum told him about the missing basketball. And the first secret code—the Morse Code.

“A boy could get mighty lonely without his basketball,” Mr. Tressler said. There was a twinkle in his eye.