The Mystery of Adventure Island by Paul Moxham

followed her. She headed straight for the hill and, as she walked past the stream and into some trees, the children lost sight of her.
    Will, who was in the lead, raced forward. As he came to the stream and looked around, he frowned. “She’s disappeared.”
    “But she was right here,” Amy said. “She must have walked faster.”
    Following Amy, the others raced up the slope. As they arrived at the top, they all looked around. The mysterious woman couldn’t be seen.
    “Where did she go?” Joe grabbed the binoculars from Will and peered through them as he scanned the surrounding area. No movement could be seen .
    Suddenly, they all heard a noise behind them. Turning around, Joe saw the woman standing at the base of an oak tree.
    She walked up to them. “Playing cowboys and Indians are we?” she said in an amused voice.
    Amy frowned. “What?”
    The woman smiled, her bright blue eyes shining as looked at each of them in turn. “You were following me.”
    “We weren’t,” Will lied . “We—”
    “Have you by any chance seen three men about?” the woman asked.
    “Ah, maybe. Why do you ask?” Joe said.
    The woman reached into her pocket and took out a badge which she held out for the others to see. It was official looking, just like a police officer would have. There was a name on it. It read: Nancy Allen.
    The woman smiled. “I’m Detective Allen and, as you might have guessed, I’m a police officer. I’m trying to find three men—”
    “We’ve seen three men,” Sarah interrupted.
    Nancy looked at her. “Really? Here, on this island?”
    Sarah nodded. “They say they are birdwatchers, but they’re bad people.”
    “Really?” Nancy turned to Joe. “Is that true?”
    Joe explained how they had met the men earlier. Once he had done so, he looked curiously at the woman. “Why did you come here?”
    “I heard a rumour that the men were here,” Nancy said. “Now, would you be able to describe the men so I can see if they are the three that I’m trying to find?” As Will did so, the woman nodded. “Yes, it’s them. Do you know where they are staying?”
    “There’s a cabin in the woods on the far side of the island,” Amy said.
    “Okay. Well, I’m trying to find something that the men have stolen, so—” Nancy said.
    “What?” Sarah interrupted.
    The woman hesitated. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this—”
    “We’ll keep it a secret,” Joe interrupted.
    “Well, those men are wanted for stealing paintings,” Nancy said.
    “Paintings?” Will questioned.
    “Yes,” Nancy said. “They’ve stolen them from museums. Do you have any idea of where they could be?”
    The children shook their heads. “We haven’t seen much,” Joe said, “we assumed they were not up to any good, but I didn’t realise that they had stolen paintings.”
    “It’s very important that they be found, so can you help me locate them?” Nancy said.
    “Why don’t you arrest them now?” Will said. “If they’re thieves—”
    “I need the paintings as proof, so I want to make sure that they are with the men before I arrest them.” The woman gazed around at the island before looking at her watch. “It’s such a big island, so I need your help. The paintings have to be somewhere close by. Once I find them, I can contact headquarters.”
    “Golly, another mystery,” Amy said.
    The woman frowned. “Another mystery? What do you mean?”
    Amy smiled. “We, ah, seem to have a habit of attracting mysteries. This will be our fourth one this summer.”
    “Did you solve the rest of them?” Nancy asked.
    Joe nodded. “Yes.”
    “Well, it’s a good thing that I stumbled onto you lot.” Nancy smiled. “So, who can help me solve the mystery of the missing paintings?”
    Will looked at the others. “I’m sure everyone will agree with me when I say that we will do all we can to put those men in jail.”
    “Good. Now, any ideas of where the paintings could be?” the woman asked.
    Amy spoke