American author Augusta Huiell Seaman (1879–1950) wrote her mystery novel «The Curious Affair at Heron Shoals» in 1940: Marty is a teenaged heroine, who lives in relative isolation with her grandmother and a mysterious parrot. But when a piano prodigy, the twelve year old Ted, comes for a visit, his interest in the mystery prompts Marty to start investigating.
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Augusta Huiell Seaman. The Curious Affair at Heron Shoals
Chapter 1 – Introducing Methuselah
Chapter 2 – Marty Meets the Musical Prodigy
Chapter 3 – The Unwelcome Kilroys
Chapter 4 – A Clue from the Record
Chapter 5 – Monsieur Has a Theory
Chapter 6 – One Memorable Day
Chapter 7 – Footprints in the Sand
Chapter 8 – Revelations by Mrs. Greene
Chapter 9 – Intruder in the Night
Chapter 10 – Morning Adventure
Chapter 11 – The Hurricane Strikes
Chapter 12 – On the Trail of Chips
Chapter 13 – Hurricane’s Harvest
Chapter 14 – After the Storm
Chapter 15 – Aftermath
Chapter 16 – Thusy Takes the Spotlight
Chapter 17 – Chips Solves the Riddle
Chapter 18 – One November Night
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THE big, dim kitchen was very warm and smelled of hot biscuits and baking gingerbread. The late September afternoon sun slanted through a west window, intensifying the velvety green of the tall cedars outside. Within the kitchen it caused the red-checked table-cloth to glow with a burning brilliance. Little old Mrs. Greene bustled about the room, opening and shutting the oven door and putting a shovel or two of coal in the range. Suddenly the rays of sunlight were gone from the west window. The swift, late September twilight had begun. It left the old kitchen dimmer than ever.
“I wonder where Marty can be?” Mrs. Greene muttered aloud, glancing uneasily at the loud-ticking wooden clock on the mantel. (She often thought aloud when she was quite by herself.) “It’s half-past five now—and the school-bus came down at four. She should’ve been in long ago. I s’pose she’s over to the Station—as usual—though I told her—”
.....
“I missed him, too,” added Marty. “He’s such a nice man, so jolly and kind, and no trouble at all about the place. But what about him?”
“Only this about him,” went on Mrs. Greene. “About a week ago, he wrote to ask me would I be willing to take in a friend of his for about six weeks, beginning to-morrow. He said this man was very much interested in surf-fishing, too, and would like to try it down here. But the main reason was about this man’s son—a boy of twelve, I think he said. The boy has been rather ailing lately—not real sick but just not up to the mark—and he thought it would do the little feller good to be down here for a while. So he wants to bring him, too. And the boy has a sort of teacher that goes around with him, a man, and he’s to come along, too. That’ll be three of ’em, but Professor Sedgwick wrote that the boy’s father was a wealthy man and would be willing to pay anything in reason I’d charge. It was too good a chance to miss, so I didn’t feel I ought to refuse. It’ll set us up for a good winter and we won’t have to scrimp so much. Now you know!”
