by Paul Moxham
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The Mystery of the Howling Dog
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When Amy hears a dog barking in the woods, she’s the first to come to the animal’s aid. After taking the animal to the vet, she and the others attempt to locate its owner. However, things don’t quite turn out as planned.
Where has the dog come from? Why does the animal try to enter a cottage after the owner declares he has never seen the animal before? What causes the children to pursue two men into the woods?
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Want More?
Here is Chapter 1 of The Mystery of Hidden Valley, the next thrilling novel in The Mystery Series
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The Mystery of Hidden Valley
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Chapter 1: Guess What?
It was a hot summer’s day in the coastal village of Smugglers Cove and the three siblings had decided it was too warm to ride down to the beach. So, instead, they lay sprawled out under an old apple tree that grew in the front garden of Rose Cottage, the pretty whitewashed house where the three were staying for the summer holidays.
Joe, the eldest, sat up as he heard the sound of a bicycle tearing along the gravel road. He grinned as he spotted a flash of red hair. It was Will, their best friend.
Will brought his bicycle to a screeching stop and climbed off. He walked over and sat down beside his friends. “Guess what?”
Sarah, who was eight years old, looked eagerly at the boy with her green eyes. “What?”
“Have you come across a new mystery?” Joe asked.
Will shook his head. “I think we’ve had our fair share of mysteries for these holidays.”
Joe looked disappointed. “What a pity. It would have been good to have one final mystery to solve before going back to school.”
“Well, I have something I think you lot will like just as much,” Will replied. “You know how I told you my father recently finished his first novel?”
Amy, two years older than Sarah, sat up. “Yes, what about it?”
“Well, this morning he told me that his publisher had just telephoned him and asked him to start work on the sequel,” Will replied. “He thinks it’s going to be a big success and wants the second novel written as soon as possible.”
“Your father must be very happy,” Joe said.
Will nodded. “Yes, he is. He’s been spending such a lot of time writing. In fact, just lately, I’ve hardly seen him at all, which is why it will be good to go away together.”
“Go away where?” Amy asked.
“To Wales.” Will grinned. “Isn’t that great?”
The three siblings were silent for a moment, and then Joe gave a forced smile. “I hope you have fun.”
“No. I hope we’ll have fun,” Will replied, grinning.
Amy’s eyes lit up. “You don’t mean—”
“You don’t think I would go if you couldn’t come along too, did you?” Will interrupted.
“But is your dad okay with that?” Joe said.
“He’s the one who suggested it,” Will replied. “Since his novel is set in the Welsh mountains, he wanted to go there so he can get a feel for the place. He thought if you came, it would make the holiday more fun for me.”
“I wonder if we’ll see any eagles,” Joe said.
“Haven’t you seen enough birds this summer?” Amy teased.
“Of course not.” Joe laughed. “I’m always too busy solving mysteries.”
Eager to see what Mrs Mitchell thought of the idea, the children raced into the house. She wasn’t very keen at first, but as Will explained that his father would be keeping an eye on them, she said she would leave the decision to her husband.
As Mr Mitchell wasn’t due home for a while, the children returned to the shade of the apple tree and lay down.
“Whereabouts in Wales is it?” Joe asked.
“I’m not exactly sure. As soon as my dad said that you lot could come, I was so excited that I raced over here,” Will said.
“Would we be staying in a village?” Amy questioned.
“Not exactly,” Will replied. “There’s a small cottage a little way up the mountain. An old couple rent it out from time to time, mostly during the summer.”
“So what would we do there?” Joe asked.
“Dad said something about a castle,” Will said. “He also mentioned how we could hire some ponies from the local stables and go riding in a nearby valley.”
“A valley. That sounds like a good place for a mystery,” Joe murmured with a twinkle in his eye.
Will laughed. “You and your mysteries.”
“Admit it!” Joe shot back. “You like mysteries just as much as I do.”
“Well, yes, but I don’t talk about them all the time like you do,” Will said. “I suppose we’re just lucky. Some people live their entire lives without running into a single mystery, and we seem to bump into them all the time.”
“Funny, isn’t it?” Amy said. “Because it isn’t as though you can make a mystery happen. It either happens or it doesn’t.”
The talking ceased as everyone lay down in the shade of the apple tree. Gradually, they drifted off to sleep.
Sarah was the first to open her eyes, and when she did, she got a shock. Gazing down at her was her father. She leapt to her feet and hugged him as the others awoke.
“Hello,” Will said.
Mr Mitchell laughed. “Sleeping away the last days of the summer holidays, are we?”
“We were waiting for you,” Joe said.
“Me?” Mr Mitchell replied, a look of surprise on his face. He placed his briefcase on the ground as his wife opened the front door.
“The children have something to ask you,” Mrs Mitchell said, walking over.
Mr Mitchell kissed his wife on the cheek. “And what might that be?”
“Can we please go to Wales?” Sarah blurted out.
“Will’s father is going to the mountains in Wales and asked us if we wanted to go along,” Joe explained.
Mr Mitchell looked at his wife. “What do you think?”
“I told them it was up to you whether or not they went,” his wife replied.
“Well, I suppose I had better talk to Mr Spencer—” Mr Mitchell said with a smile.
“He’s home now,” Will interrupted.
“I’ll go and telephone him right away then,” Mr Mitchell replied. “That is, if you all want to go.”
“Yes, please!” shouted the three siblings all at once.
“I see,” Mr Mitchell said. “Give me ten minutes.”
While the children waited for his answer, they played a game of snap in Joe’s bedroom. Ten minutes later, Mr Mitchell came into the room. The man smiled at the happy children. “You may go.”
Joe and the girls flung themselves on their father, happy beyond belief.
Mr Mitchell was in the middle of untangling himself when his wife entered the room.
The woman wrapped an arm around her husband. “Just make sure you behave yourself and keep away from any mysteries.”
“We’ll try to,” Joe promised with a twinkle in his eye.
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As the car crossed the border into Wales the following day, the four children gazed out of the window.
Amy thought the scenery looked quite different from the scenery around Smugglers Cove. As she twirled a strand of brown hair around her finger, she kept her eyes glued to the landscape. As time went on, hills started to turn into mountains, and soon it really did look as though they were in another country.
Throughout the day, Mr Spencer stopped the car at several small villages so they could stretch their legs and grab a bite to eat.
The villages became smaller and smaller until they were even smaller than Smugglers Cove. As for the mountains, they became bigger and bigger.
As the day wore on, Mr Spencer smiled. “We’re almost at the village.”
“What’s it called?�
� Joe asked, peering forward, eager to be the first to see where they were going to be staying for the next few days.
“Ponty,” Mr Spencer replied. “It’s fairly small, but that will be okay. We’ve brought plenty of food, so we’ll only need to buy bread and milk.”
Will, who was sitting in the front seat, was the first to spot the village as the car wound its way around the mountainside. He yelled out. “I see it!”
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