It all started nearly one hundred years ago with a prospector by the name of Ezra T. Tumblegum. Seems Ezra stumbled across a treasure map inside his great-grandfather's diary. it was supposed to lead him to a long-lost gold mine at Lightning Ridge. Old Ezra never did find any gold, but he did start up the town of Tumblegum, for which every-one is enormously grateful. grateful that a statue of Ezara T. has been erected right in the middle of the town square.

But today, just a few days before Tumble-gum's big centennial celebration, the town is in turmoil. Some low-down, no-good, rotten scoundrel of a thief has stolen the map right off the library wall. Not just any map mind you, but the map belonging to old Ezra T. Tumblegum himself if you keep your eyes open for hidden clues, you can help solve the mystery of the missing map...!

"How can we celebrate the town's one hundred year anniversary withOut that map?" people wondered. "It's all we have left of old Ezra T.

'And who would want to steel that old map anyway?" others asked. that was the question.

"We'II just have to go on with the celebra-tion this Saturday, map or no map," Mayor Maypole annoinced.

meanwhile, all around the town, Police Chief Pepper hanging signs that read: $50 REWARD FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO the arrest of the map thief

Everyone wanted to find the mad in time for the celebration. Everyone wanted to catch that thief. People searched from one

end of Tumblegum to the other. High and low they looked. inside and outside they searched.

All they found was a lost dog, a lost ball, a lost skateboard, two lost socks that did not match and a perfectly good yo-yo.

(But I expect you have found those already.) If they had looked a little harder, they might have found something the map thief had dropped by accident.

Nobody wanted to solve the mystery of the missing map as much as maggie and Max maypole, the mayor's grandchildren. "grandpa will be so disappointed if he has to hold the centennial celebration with-out the map that brought Ezra T. to Tumble-gum in the first plesce," Maggie sighed. "The thief has to be someone who went to the library last Wednesday," max said. "Let's go and talk to the librarian."

Maggie and Max walked across town. Everywhere banners were being painted and flags hoisted, while the the marching band was practising for the concert to be given in the Saturday.

The old library stood across the street from the town square. inside, Mr Quarto the librarian sat behind his desk, a glum expression on his face. "I just don't know how the thief did it," he sighed. "The map was there about my desk when I opened at ten. And gone, dis-appeared, vanished, when I closed at six." "Who used the library on Wednesday?" Maggie asked.

Mr Quarto rubbed his head. "As best I can remember, Mr and Mrs Oates, the bakers came in to look at creative cake-baking cookbooks. They wanted to bake something extra special for the big celebra-tion on Saturday," Mr Quarto explained. Max wrote the Oates's name first on the list of suspects. "Who else?" maggie asked.

"The Turner twins," Mr Quarto con- tinued. "they borrowed books on music. They are playing in the band on Saturday, you know."Max added the twins' name to his list. "Anyone else?" Maggie said.

"just after lunch Gus Brown and his daughter came in to take notes from The Encyclopedia of potted plants," Mr Quarto Went on. "As the town gardeners, they are responsible for making sure the square looks just right for the celebration on Saturday."Is that everyone?" Maggie said. "Think hard, Mr Quarto. This is important!"

"Hmm." Mr Quarto concentrated. "Oh, yes just before closing time, Me and Mrs Nabbit came in. They are new in town. They kept me busy, I remember. Mr Nabbit kept asking for books on rocks and minerals

Mrs Nabbit wanted books on local history. I was busy rushing from one shelf to the next, let me tell you!" Max finished his list. "Then, when I got ready to close, I saw to my horror that the wall was empty," Mr Quarto moaned. Maggie and Max stared up at the wall where Ezra T.'s map hap had hung for over ninety years. if they had thought to look elsewhere, they might have found another important clue the thief had left behind.

Maggie and Max studied the names on the list. "I think we should show this to police Chief Pepper," Maggie said.

The police station was crowded with complaining people.

"Somebody's stolen our silver measuring scales," shouted Mr and Mrs Oates. "We looked everywhere for them this morning. We can't cook our colossal centennial cake without them."

"And someone has taken our tambour-ines," wailed tom Turner. "We've turned our room upside down." "We won't be able to play in the band on Saturday without them," tatti turner added.

"And what about our costumes?" cried Miss finkus, who was all in a frazzle. "Someone has stolen the miners' helmets my class going to wear in the parade."

"Our pick and shovel have been swiped too," shouted Gus Brown. "My daughter