Chapter 2 of 10
The room above the feed store has one window on the street, and the street uses it. The stranger, reports the town's unofficial watch, owns almost nothing and guards one thing: a bundle the size of a fist, wrapped in flannel and tied with waxed string, never left in the room. It rides his coat pocket to the diner, the church, the creek where he sits evenings. Once, at the counter, the flannel gaped and Minnie Sparks saw a wink of gold and a chain. Gold, a chain, a grieving widow, a deed with a date on it. The arithmetic writes itself on every porch in town. Only Joel Rand does the other sum out loud: a swindler, the minister observes, sells the gold watch. He does not carry it like a hot coal he has promised not to drop.
Use the arrow keys to move between letters. Press Enter or Space on the first letter of a word, then again on the last letter. Press Escape to cancel.
armchairpuzzles.com · free large-print word searches
About this case
A chapter of The Man off the Bus, a mystery told in word searches. Each chapter leaves you one clue; the finale needs them all.
How a mystery chapter works
- 1Read the scene first.Every chapter opens with a scene from the case. The word list is drawn from it, and so is the clue.
- 2Find the words.Tap a word's first letter, then tap along to its last, or press and drag. Found words colour themselves in and cross off the list.
- 3One listed word is not in the grid.Find the other nine and the word left over is the chapter's clue. Note it down, or let the case page keep it for you.
- 4The finale needs every clue.The last puzzle's word list is the clues you collected, and once you find them all, the leftover letters spell out who did it, and why.
Prefer pen and paper?
Print The Man off the Bus as one large-print booklet: every chapter and its puzzle, a clue ledger, and the ending sealed on the last page.