Excerpt from
The Jensen Family

"Hello, Officer," Steve said confidently as he strolled out to meet the car. "I think we got your man. They drove a red '57 Chevy into that garage right there," he said pointing to the end of the street, "and no one came out."
"You two better stay back," the other policeman ordered.

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#45- The Adventure with the Mysterious Garage Part 1

A Character story about obedience.

"And so, the baby wood ducks that obeyed their mother's voice- even when obeying didn't seem to be the right thing to do- were the ones that survived; those who did not obey, perished." Mr. Jensen grinned as he closed the book. "You know, I'm sure glad you two are my children. I know you are going to do right while I'm gone this week."
"We promise, right Jason?" Julie asserted.
"Right. But we'll miss you, Dad. I hope you get some pictures to bring home."
"I don't imagine I'll have much time on this business trip to take many pictures. But I'll take my camera just in case. I hope you two will be able to find some constructive things to do now that school is out."
"I will," Jason assured him. "Steve and I are getting up early to go fishing Monday morning. We'll probably have a few dozen by the time you get back."
"Sounds good. I hope you have a good time. But . . . just be careful."
The sun was just beginning to lighten the sky when Steve knocked at the back door of the Jensen's house on Monday. Jason was finishing his last bite of breakfast. "Hi, Jason. Hi, Mrs. Jensen. You about ready to get going?"
"Yeah, I just have to brush my teeth. What's the weather supposed to be today?"
"I don't know. I never heard," Steve admitted.
"I'll turn on the radio while you're upstairs," Mrs. Jensen offered. She flipped the switch. " . . . two suspects in a Red 1957 Chevy. They fled with 2000 dollars but were lost by police. And now the weather for today will be sunny and warm.." Mrs. Jensen turned off the radio.
When Jason returned, Steve commented on the new clip. "I wonder how come the police couldn't follow a car like that. The old '57 Chevs have fins and the bright red color would make it really stand out."
"I don't know," Jason shrugged. "Anyway, at least it's going to be perfect weather for fishing." "Yah, man. Hurry up 'cause when the sun comes up, the fish stop biting."
Soon Steve and Jason were off with their tackle boxes, a rod on their shoulder, a bag lunch, and a 'be careful' from Jason's mom.
When they had walked several blocks toward the stream, Steve got an idea. "Hey, Jason, let's cut over this hill. It'll take us within a few blocks of the stream and will save us at least ten minutes of walking."
"I don't know, Steve," Jason said with a frown. "It's got that big power line tower that says 'keep away.'"
"That just means to stay off the tower. We're not even gunna touch the tower. Come on." Without waiting for Jason's approval, Steve began to climb up the steep hill toward the tower. Jason reluctantly followed. "See, there's no trouble," Steve remarked as they began to descend the other side. "It just goes into this dead end back street. I think it's Brewster circle. From here it's-" But Steve cut off his sentence as he fell into the grass.
"What's the matter with you?" Jason asked.
"Get down! Hurry! Don't you see it?" He said in a coarse whisper.
"See what?" Jason asked, kneeling down next to Steve.
"That car pulling into that garage. It-it's a red '57 Chevy!"
Jason's eyes grew wide as he fell down flat into the grass next to Steve. They watched as the door closed on the lone single car garage. High on a hill above this simple structure stood a large three story house. Lights were on in only two of the windows.
"What do you think we should do?" Jason asked in a shaky voice.
"I-I'll stay here and keep my eye on that g-garage while you run home and call the police. But hurry!"
Jason crawled up the hill and then dashed down the other side and along the sidewalks toward home. The sight of a phone booth gave him an idea. He pulled his only quarter from his back pocket and called the operator. In spite of his gasps and pants, he was able to describe what they had seen and where it was. By the time Jason reached the hill where Steve was waiting, a siren could be heard in the distance.
"Good work, Jason Ol' Boy. Maybe we'll get a reward for this, uh? Come on. Let's sneak down through those bushes so we can make sure they get our names for the paper." They crept down the hill and arrived at the bottom just as the police car drove up.
"Hello, Officer," Steve said confidently as he strolled out to meet the car. "I think we got your man. They drove a red '57 Chevy into that garage right there," he said pointing to the end of the street, "and no one came out."
"You two better stay back," the other policeman ordered. As Steve and Jason hid back in the bushes, the two officers grabbed their guns and gradually pulled up the garage door. To the shock of the boys, the garage was empty!

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PUZZLE: a youngster went off to summer camp but found she was short on cash. When she wrote home, her father wrote back and said that if she could solve this puzzle, he would send more money. In it, each letter stands for a different number; when a letter is repeated, it means that the number is also repeated. Can you figure out what number each letter represents? There is only one right answer. (You have a whole week to work on it.)

S E N D
+ M O R E
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M O N E Y