“SPLUT!” went an enormous glob of mud against the window of Mr. Hollerbuck’s Industrial Arts classroom. Mabel Crockett winced at the sudden squeal of chairs scraping the floor as almost every child at Willibunk Middle School scrambled for a view out of a classroom window. “Sweeeeet!” cried a boy next to Mabel, as the wind […]
Category > The Legend of Logjam
Chapter 2
The river’s latest outburst was merely a hiccup in duration, and the sky remained clear; the air calm. Mabel and Van passed the gray church, beyond which were several houses on either side of River Street, and beyond the houses the road ended abruptly in a small roundabout. Directly in front of Mabel and Van, […]
Chapter 3
Mabel woke and glanced at the alarm clock next to her bed, certain it should have gone off by now. She had a panicky feeling that she was about to miss her bus. Sitting up quickly, she squinted at the clock, attempting to bring her brain into focus. Slowly, the numbers began to make sense. […]
Chapter 4
The most annoying aspect of school, even worse than Mitchell Blunt as far as Mabel was concerned, was that it kept her from accompanying her father on all his magazine-related trips. She scrambled ahead of Van on the well-trampled path through the woods until it ended at the edge of an expansive grassy field. Ahead […]
Chapter 5
Mabel and Van positively hounded Ivy with questions on the bus rides to and from school the next day. Did she get a good look at the puppy? Would the dogs be allowed to stay in the shed? Were they feeding Sparkle? Had Sparkle said anything to her? The last question, from Mabel, drew a […]
Chapter 6
“I talked to Verdon Arbogast today,” said Mr. Crockett to Mabel, as she dropped her backpack in the press office after school. “I told him who I was, and he laughed and said it was a big mistake. He had mistaken you for the daughter of an old school-mate.” Mr. Crockett was drinking coffee and […]
Chapter 7
“Maybe it’s not the same Verdon Arbogast,” suggested Mabel, as she, Van, and Ivy collected their backpacks. “Maybe the guy in the yearbook is his father, or grandfather.” “Well,” said Ivy, pondering the possibilities, “if he was 18 when the yearbook was published, then he would now be…106.” “Maybe,” added Van, kicking the floor, “Arbogast […]
Chapter 8
“What is that man going to do?” asked Mabel, as she and her father made toast in the kitchen of the little brick house. “Are you sure the Halfslips aren’t in trouble?” It was Friday morning, the start of a weekend trip Mabel had very much been looking forward to, but concern about the previous […]
Chapter 9
Mabel sat down on the bench and nodded at the honeymooning couple as they strolled by on the gravel path. She waited until they were out of sight, because it would look silly to call for someone who didn’t seem to be there at all. “Dun,” called Mabel, “where did you go?” She scanned the […]
Chapter 10
“Thank you,” said Dun with a slight nod. “Thank me for what?” asked Mabel. She was elated. Dun had reappeared, and her outlook on this whole trip was better than ever. “That I didn’t have to leave the garden to find you,” replied Dun. “It’s very uncomfortable for me.” He looked slightly nervous and fingered […]
Chapter 11
Mabel leaned forward in her seat and looked out the window. The wing of the Shooting Star reached for the clouds above it as Mr. Crockett eased the plane into a u-turn. Below, the landscape was a barren expanse of dirt and scrub, and the lush Cochiti Spring oasis was miles behind them. Bailey booted […]
Chapter 12
“What is with you and that guy?” asked Van. He and Mabel crossed River Street and cut through an alley between Bumper’s Stuff Shop and Logjam Savings Bank. They waved at Coco Alda who was hauling boxes out to the dumpster behind the store. “I’m getting a little tired of his freaky suggestions,” Van continued. […]
Chapter 13
Van and Mabel hurried toward the Logjam Public Library, where Tim Tutter had scheduled his press conference. “I don’t know what that goof and his bee think they’re going to pull off up north,” said Mabel, “but I’d like to hear what he has to say.” “So,” said Van, “do you think Patience and the […]
Chapter 14
“I’m worried about Ivy,” said Mabel. She sank into the unoccupied schoolbus seat next to Van as the bus lurched away from the curb. “She’ll be okay,” Van reassured her. “Everybody gets sick and misses school once in a while.” “Yeah,” said Mabel, not feeling very reassured at all. “Anyway,” she continued, “I’ve got a […]
Chapter 15
Mabel wasn’t surprised to discover that Mrs. Pilderjack’s car was just as pink on the inside as it was on the out. Mrs. Pilderjack climbed into the driver’s seat, picked up a small pink spray canister and pumped a squirt into the air. “Mmmmm…fresh!” she said, turning around to smile cloyingly at Van and Mabel. […]
Chapter 16
“You think you can drive this thing?” Mabel asked Van, patting the hood of the golf cart in the botanical center parking lot. “Sure,” replied Van, “anybody could. It’s like a toy. But I think you may be nuts about the Shooting Star. You really planning to fly an airplane?” Mabel tried to feel confident. […]
Chapter 17
Arbogast held the gun loosely in his right hand and motioned toward the hatch with his left. “You two just go on ahead,” he said in what struck Mabel as a remarkably casual tone. “I’ll bring up the rear.” Mabel followed Van into the plane’s hold. Behind them, Arbogast paused and eyed Norton critically. “I […]
Chapter 18
Mabel opened her eyes and attempted, with some confusion, to focus on the white fabric deflating in front of her face. “Airbags?” Van choked out. “Whoever heard of airbags in an airplane?” “Oh…yeah…” replied Mabel, dazedly, as the purpose of the fabric dawned on her. “My mother insisted…on really big ones.” In front of Van […]
Chapter 19
Mabel, Van, Ivy, and the four adults huddled farther back on the porch, and shielded their faces against the soil and foliage being thrown by the helicopter as it settled, noisily, onto an open space between the cottages and the garden plots. “That thing better not mess with my corn,” muttered Jonah. “WHAT?” asked Laura, […]
Chapter 20
Mabel felt sick. “You can’t…revive him?” she asked hopefully. She hadn’t even liked Tutter very much, but it seemed impossible that he could be dead. “I told you, honey, I’m not magic,” replied Colleen. “He’s good and drowned.” “Oh, no, no, no…” moaned the helicopter pilot, pacing rapidly back and forth while tugging at his […]
Chapter 21
“Oh, my heavens!” cried a flustered secretary scurrying into the room. “What happened to Agent Manderley?” She lifted his head and began patting him rapidly on the cheeks. Mabel had barely opened her mouth to reply when two more women hurried into the room, and joined the patting. “I think he’s okay,” said one of […]
BEA AND THE SMART KIDS
BREAKFAST OF SCALLYWAGS
HUNTING THE ROSE
THE LEGEND OF LOGJAM