Chapter 3 of 10
Thursday, the stranger rides the mail truck to the county seat and is seen, by three separate Harmony errands, entering the pawnbroker's on Court Street. He comes out lighter, in a way witnesses cannot name, and pays his next month's board in worn bills. The town's verdict lands by supper: he has cashed his first haul, and the widow is next. The pawnbroker, when the constable telephones, disappoints the theory. One item pawned, he confirms, by a man with soldier's papers, in his own name, no haggling, and not a lady's anything. The town whispers: a medal, a watch chain, worse. The pawnbroker will not say what. A pause, a ledger page turning. Tell your town, he says slowly, that in thirty years of this trade, the shop has never before held something I would rather not profit from.
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.
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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.