8. Ellie to the Rescue

Chapter 8 Ellie to the Rescue "You have? Where?" Bradley asked. "Out front," Ellie told the excited kids. "It was around Thanksgiving, and it was real warm outside. A boy came by on a bike." Ellie tapped one of the pictures. "This rabbit was sitting in the bike's basket." "Do you know who the boy was?" asked Nate. Ellie shook her head. "No, I don't think he was from Green Lawn," she said. "He was older than you kids. He might have been visiting someone for the holiday." "Maybe he was visiting the man with the scar on his finger!" Lucy said. "It could be his grandfather," Brian suggested.

Bradley pulled out the picture that showed Douglas sitting on a lawn near a hedge. "And maybe this is that man's lawn," he said. Ellie pointed toward the back of her diner. "When the boy left, he rode his bike that way, toward the bird streets," she said. "What's a bird street?" asked Lucy. "Over by Bridge Lane all the streets are named after birds," Brian explained. The four kids huddled over the picture. "There are at least ten bird streets," Brian said. "They all have lawns, and they all have hedges." Bradley put his finger on the picture. "Look, there's something on the other side of that hedge," he said. "It looks like a building," Lucy said. "Guys, I think it's the town hall," Nate said. "That must be the flag on top." "No, it can't be the town hall," Brian said. "There are no houses near it, and no hedges."

Bradley held the picture closer. "It's Center Church!" he said. "That isn't a flag on top, it's the church steeple." Bradley looked up, grinning. "All we have to do is find which house has a view of the church over the hedge!" he said. "Almost all of them do, Brad," Brian said. "We'll never find the right one." "Yes, we will," Bradley said. He slipped the pictures into a pocket. "We have to, for Douglas!" "So what do we do?" Nate asked. "We should walk down Bridge Lane," Bradley suggested. "We'll pass by all the bird streets, and we can look over the hedges for the church." The kids thanked Ellie and pulled on their mittens. Outside, the wind was blowing harder. The sky was dark gray. "It's starting to snow," Nate said. He stuck his tongue out to catch a flake. "Let's hurry!" Bradley said.

The kids walked past the fitness center and turned left onto Bridge Lane. The first street they came to was Wren Drive. They walked to the end of the short street, where tall hedges grew. They looked over the hedges. "I can see the church," Bradley said. "But it doesn't look like the same view as in the picture." "Let's try the next street," suggested Lucy. They hurried back up Wren Drive, then went left to Blue Jay Way. They peered over the hedge behind the last house. "This doesn't look right, either," Brian said. They could all see the church steeple. But when they compared it to the picture, the views didn't seem the same. They looked over the hedges behind Pheasant Lane, Owl Road, and Thrush Court. One of the hedges was too tall. Another one had a tree growing out of it. The hedge at the end of Thrush Court had a white fence in front of it. "None of these are right," Bradley said.

"How many more of these bird streets are there?" Lucy asked. "A few more," Bradley said. His nose was red and running. Snowflakes were catching in his eyelashes. "Come on, guys, it has to be one of these." The kids hiked to Finch Lane. They came to a small yellow house. Behind the house was a neat hedge. It was covered with snow. Bradley pulled out the picture and held it up. "I think we found the street!" he said.

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