The Mystery at Maypenny's

dull roar. Even the bus driver looked less harried.
    It was easy for the Beldens to spot the other Bob-Whites in the crowd. They were a small, quiet pocket in the middle of the chatter.
    “Dan has something to tell all of us,” Honey said as soon as the Beldens had sat down. “He wanted to wait until we were all together.”
    “Go ahead, Dan,” Brian said quickly.
    Dan took a deep breath. He was naturally shy, but Trixie could see that his reluctance to speak was caused by something more than that.
    “I need some advice,” Dan began softly. He paused again, then forced himself to continue. “Over the past three days, I’ve found five more dead ducks in the preserve.”
    “That’s pretty unusual, isn’t it?” Brian asked.
    Dan nodded his head. “There are usually a few in the spring, when they’ve just finished the long flight north. This time of year, finding more than one or two a month is very unusual. The worst part is that I haven’t even been looking for them. The five I’ve found were all on or near the trails. I don’t know how many more there might be back in the woods.”
    “My advice is to tell Mr. Maypenny about it,” Trixie said.
    Dan grinned wryly. “I did tell him. That’s the part I need advice about.”
    “I—I don’t understand,” Trixie said. “Mr. Maypenny knows more about that preserve than anyone. He should know what to do.”
    Dan nodded. “Exactly,” he said. “But when I told him about the ducks I’d found, he acted strange. He didn’t ask me for more details or anything. He just got snappish and said a few dead ducks were nothing to get excited about. Then he turned and walked away.”
    “Maybe he was just saying what he really felt,” Brian suggested. “He’s lived in those woods for a long time. He’s seen an awful lot more than we have.”
    Dan shook his head. “I don’t have any proof of what I’m about to say,” he began slowly. “I—I hate to say it at all, because I wouldn’t want to get Mr. Maypenny into any trouble. But it seemed to me that he wasn’t a bit surprised by what I told him. That could mean, as you say, that he’s not concerned. Or it could be that he wasn’t surprised because he’d found some dead ducks, too. I got the feeling that he had—and that he was covering up the fact that he’s actually very concerned about it.”
    “If Mr. Maypenny were concerned, he’d go right to Daddy and tell him about it,” Honey said. “He takes his job very seriously.”
    “He’s also serious about holding onto his land,” Dan said. “With Mr. Wheeler urging him to sell part of it, the last thing Mr. Maypenny would do is let your father know about a possible epidemic..”
    “I see what you mean,” Brian said. “If Mr. Wheeler thought the preserve wasn’t a healthy place for wildlife, there would be no reason at all for him not to sell.”
    Dan nodded and said nothing.
    There was a moment of silence before Jim spoke up. “I understand your problem, Dan. Mr. Maypenny is your boss, as well as your friend. If he tells you to ignore what’s happening, you can’t very well go over his head to report it to Dad. Still, it’s my father’s land, and he has a right to know what’s going on.”
    Again Dan Mangan nodded, looking more miserable by the moment.
    “I know we’ve been on different sides of this issue for a long time. Even so, I’m not interested in causing trouble for you or Mr. Maypenny. I’ll tell you what I would like to do,” Jim said. “I’ll go for a ride in the preserve this afternoon. If I find a duck, I’ll report it to my father. I won’t tell him what you’ve just told us.” Jim paused and looked steadily at Dan. “I’ll do my best to let my father know about this without getting him excited and without making him think it should influence his decision about selling to International Pine. Will you trust me?”
    Dan’s black eyes looked searchingly into Jim’s green ones for a moment. “I guess I’ll have to,” he said finally.
    Trixie let out a sigh of relief. Even though Dan’s problem was far from solved, what had just happened proved, at least, that the Bob-Whites had managed to keep themselves from being divided by their opinions on International Pine. Soon the city council would vote and the decision would be out of their hands. She hoped that things could then return to normal.

    Trixie was setting the table for dinner that evening when Honey called.
    “Jim found two more ducks,