my first story book published today 16 th july 2009 my 12 th bith anniversary

1. The Colonel Find
Outers
Mystery Of the Stolen Diamonds
Author: Nikhil Bachhawat

2. Ch a p t e r 1: A N e w Nei g h b o u r
In the lit t le town of
Peterswood, it was snowing
heavi ly . David’s mother shouted,
“Co me down David, Catherine and
Li l y . Our new neighbour with her
son has come to meet and have
tea with us. Come down fast !”
David, a f i f teen- year-old boy,
Catherine, a twelve-year-old
gir l and Li l y , a sweet gir l of
eight years came rushing down
the stai rs . They were very
curious to know how their
neighbours looked, although they
had a gl impse of them through
the window. The tea was lovely
and the mothers chatted over the
tea while the three chi ldren
asked their neighbour questions.
They found out his name was
Rodick. He was f i f teen

3. Years old as David, and his aim
was to be the greatest detect ive
and the others too had the same
aim in l i f e . So, they thought
that they real ly would become
fast fr iends. They al l said that
they might not have any mystery
to solve in th is quiet town. But
they were completely wrong. They
did have a nice, ju icy mystery
and that too the very next day.

4. Ch a p t e r 2: Mr s . Mar pl e ’ s
s t o r y o f t h e s t o l e n di a m o n d s
The day came to an end. They
went to their homes and went to
bed early . They were asleep in a
few mo ents as they were very
m
t i red. There was a noise that
nobody except Rodick’s Micky
heard as the whole house was
asleep. And i t was only the cat
me wing! Late in the morning they
woke up at almost the same t ime.
They jumped out of their beds
and ran to the bathroom to
change for they had to go to
school. I t would be the last day
of school. David was too happy
for words as the winter
vacations would start ! I t would
be for a long t ime as i t had
three great occasions- Easter,
Christmas and New Year! They
read the newspaper in a hurry as
they had a feel ing that there

5. would be a mystery and suddenly
Li l y cried out aloud, “Hey,
l i s ten al l of you, Mrs. Marple’s
jewel lery has been stolen and
most of them were diamonds!
Whe w, the th ief must have been
quite daring to do that! Mrs.
Marple has al l the sensors and
burglar alarms around her
house.” They decided to tel l
Rodick about i t after school.
After a few hours of impatient
wait ing the school bel l rang!
Al l rushed out of the school
gates pel l - mell . David,
Catherine and Li ly ran l i ke
cheetahs to their house. They
changed quickly , drank the
coffee which was wait ing for
them and rushed off to Rodick’s
l i t t l e shed where the would f ind
him. They narrated the story of
the stolen diamonds and were
surprised that he had already
read about i t . So Rodick said,

6. “So what are we wait ing for?
Come on Micky, let us have a
walk. There’s been a burglary in
our town.” Micky cocked up his
ears on hearing his name, got to
his feet and fo l lowed Rodick,
his master, and his new fr iends.
After they reached there, they
rang the bel l . Mrs. Marple
hersel f opened the door. She
asked her unexpected vis i tors to
si t down in the drawing room. I t
was neatly furn ished. Rodick
said, “ We have heard about the
robbery. Can you tel l us
anything about i t?” Mrs. Marple
said, “ There is nothing much to
tel l . But there are f ingerpr ints
in the wall and in the room and
on the vaults .” The chi ldren
stra ig htaway went to the room and
Catherine, who was a wonderful
art is t , drew an exact copy of the
gloves and measured i t , just in
case. They al l went around the
house at the back where there were

7. large sized footpr ints and as the
soi l was of wet clay they could
even see the number of the shoe.
They noted and drew the footpr ints
in a brand new diary made for them.
It was a lovely diary with the
words ‘F i n d ou t e r ’ s d i a r y ’ printed
on the f i rs t page. Mrs. Marple also
told them about her most precious
r ing which was stolen. The chi ldren
were very happy with their day’s
detective work and returned back
home. They also looked forward for
the next day, which they thought,
would be excit ing. I t wouldn’t just
be excit ing but too excit ing.

8. Ch a p t e r 3: S e a r c h for th e
sho e s
Next day Rodick thought i t a
very good idea to go to the
cobbler’s. But of course the
cobbler did not give any
in formation to chi ldren. So,
Rodick who had al l kinds of
disguises put on a tramp’s one.
He also put some wrinkles on his
face to make himself look a
l i t t l e older. He came out of the
shed. The others were shocked to
see a middle-aged man come out
of Rodick’s shed. They did not
recognize Rodick, as his make-up
was superb. Then he told them
that he was Rodick and he was in
his favouri te disguise and told
them the plan. They agreed with
him and immediately thought that
Rodick was jo l l y clever. They
set out from their house towards
the cobbler’s shop. There they

9. saw an old man repair ing a shoe.
He asked, “ What do you want?”
They said, “ I want to know i f
anyone just bought a 12 number
shoe with sole. They were happy
to f ind that the shoe was from
that very shop. But the cobbler
repl ied in a regretfu l tone, “I
am very sorry as I am very
forgetfu l and I don’t reme mber
who bought i t . I know Mr. Boon,
the pol ice, wears th is size
shoes.” But the chi ldren could
rule him out, as a pol ice would
never do a robbery but st i l l his
name went down in the l i s t of
‘Suspicious People’. Rodick
said, “You just never know who
is the th ief . I t can be anyone
from a tramp to a pol ice.” The
cobbler also said, “I know
another man who wears the same
shoe, Mr. Quentin. He l i ves in
No. 12, Church Lane.”

10. C h a p t e r 4: A Pi c n i c and Mr s .
Mar pl e ag a i n.
The next day Catherine told the
others, “I want a day’s break.
Please can we go to the beach
and have a picnic there. I t’s a
lovely cool day.” Rodick
repl ied, “Oh! Sure. That’s a
good idea.” So they asked their
parents about their plan. They
too thought i t was a good one.
So with baskets of food they
rode their bicycles with Micky
running behind them. He was
happy as he would f ind rabbits
there and he would have a good
game chasing them. Once they
reached there, they had a lot of
fun splashing in the ice- cold
water. So Micky started barking.
The chi ldren looked around to
see what had scared Micky and
saw Mrs. Marple coming down from
her house towards the beach.
Suddenly, Rodick ran to change

11. his clothes and when the others
asked what had happened he
wouldn’t say anything. They too
changed and fo l lowed him. They
heard Rodick asking; “ We forgot
to ask you about the people who
came to meet you on the day of
the robbery.” Mrs. Marple in a
surprised tone said, “ Well, The
milkman came and of course he
could not be the th ief as he did
not even enter the house.” Then
the postman, he too just lef t
the let ters and went off on his
cycle to del iver the other
let ters and then, last of al l ,
the grocer. He put the
vegetables and he was the only
one who real ly had the t ime to
steal the jewel lery . So, the
chi ldren departed with the news
to their house.

12. C h a p t e r 5: Mr. Qu e n t i n and a
surpri s e .
Rodick got an idea of going to
Mr. Quentin’s house as a tramp
and ask for shoes, which were
old. He may even get those very
shoes, which had made the marks
at the back door of Mrs.
Marple’s house. So, without
tel l i ng the others he put on a
disguise and became a tramp. He
wore shoes, out of which his
toes stuck out. And off he went
to No.12, Churchlane, for a bit
of work. There at Mr. Quentin’s
house he saw Mr. Quentin lay ing
on a chair , sunbathing. Rodick
said, “Sorry to disturb you but
I need a pair of old shoes.” So
Mr. Quentin cal led his servant
and ordered her to give him a
pair of shoes. And Rodick as he
had thought, got the same shoes!
Out of curiosi ty he asked the
wo man, “ Where did you get th is

13. shoe from?” “Oh! From the wo man
who l i ves next door. She wanted
to get r id of these.” So, Rodick
took the shoes and went off to
change in the park. He, as
Rodick th is t ime, went off to
the woman mentioned by the
servant. He hurr iedly asked,
“From where did you get these
shoes?” She repl ied, “I bought
i t from a sale at a cobbler’s
shop and gave it to Mr.
Quentin.” And after a minutes
si lence she said, “But I know
someone had stolen th is pair of
shoes. The shopkeeper had told
me about i t . And i t was stolen
for a complete whole week.” He
thanked her and went back to his
shed where he was to meet David
Catherine and Li ly . Micky
started barking when he saw his
master coming back and acted as
i f he had met an old, old fr iend
again after years. The chi ldren

14. began asking questions. Rodick
told them the whole th ing
clear ly and then played a game
of Hulla- Hulla, where Red-
Indians would ki l l imaginary
animals, and they shouted l i ke
mad. And in the evening they
returned to their home. Rodick
shouted to them, “To morrow at
10:00 am I’l l meet you in
David’s shed. OK.”
What could be better for
the f i ve!

15. Ch a p t e r 6: D a v i d ’ s Tri c k - a n d
a br ai n w a v e .
Next morning David got up at
5:00. Just then an idea came to
his mind, “ Won’t i t be fun to
scare the others by making marks
with the same shoes which the
th ief used.” So, immediately he
took the shoes, which Rodick had
lef t behind. Although i t was big
for him, he put i t on and tr ied
to make marks. I t came out just
as David thought. At 10:00am the
three chi ldren came out to meet
Rodick. There, Catherine gave a
shout, “Look, those are the
footpr ints which we saw at Mrs.
Marple’s place.” She was r ight .
Li l y checked i t with the drawing
to make i t sure. I t was, no
doubt, the same! Just then
Rodick came into sight. They
showed him the footpr ints . He
said, “Let’s get ins ide the shed
and th ink about i t .” Rodick

16. said, “No need of i t , let’s
cl imb up the tree and th ink. The
weather is pleasant enough.”
Everybody was curious, except,
of course David. Suddenly David
burst out laughing. Rodick
asked, “ What happened, old boy?
What made you laugh?” David was
just going to fa l l when he
control led himself and said,
“Sorry, I played that tr ick on
you al l .” Everybody laughed, and
Rodick said, “It was a good one
too.” After that they went to
have some éclai rs and coffee.
Suddenly Rodick said, “ Wait, I
th ink I have part ly solved the
mystery. Although David’s legs
are small he gave us al l an
impression that someone with big
feet must have done i t . In the
same way, another man must have
played the same tr ick . And
Catherine said, “So, i t could
have been Mr. Twig, the grocer.

17. He too has small legs. And Li ly
reme mbering another th ing which
she had seen, said, “The round
shaped net- l i ke mark could have
been made by his basket.” Then
Rodick said in a rel ieved tone
said, “This mystery was l i ke a
puzzle and now the pieces are
jo in ing together. Tomorrow we
wil l search for any clues in his
basket.”

18. Ch a p t e r 7: D e t a i l e d
in v e s t i g a t i o n o f T w i g ’ s
ba s k e t .
Next day, Rodick waited at the
doorstep for the grocer to come.
Mr. Twig came on t ime and gave
the th ings to Rodick. Rodick
said, “Your basket looks l i ke
ancient one.”
Mr. Twig said, “It is .”
“Can I see i t please?”
“Su-re,” Mr. Twig stam mered. He
was sweating f iercely . Rodick
took i t and saw i t . The th ings
were put on top of a white
cloth. He removed i t and saw a
pair of gloves. They were dir ty
and big ones. I t was not Mr.
Twig’s size and the basket also
had a round shaped mark below
which could have been the one,
which was outside Mrs. Marple’s
home. Rodick thought, “I cannot
catch him now. He sure to run

19. away.” So, without any
expression, he put i t back and
gave i t to Mr. Twig. After th is ,
he ran out to meet the other
chi ldren. So with Micky at his
heels, he set out for his
neighbour’s house, which was
walking distance from his home.
He related the events to David,
Catherine and Li ly and said, “
We have to tel l someone who we m
can trust . We wil l surely not
tel l to Boon, the vi l l age bobby.
He’ll tel l the chief that he has
solved the mystery and he wil l
get promotion.” David said, as
the mystery is over; why not
take a picnic again. School is
start ing again in a few days.
And we may even f ind someone.”
Although Rodick did not th ink
they would f ind someone they
could tel l about the mystery, he
agreed with David and so did the
other two gir ls .

20. Ch a p t e r 8: A st r a n g e r - a n d
s e a r c h f o r th e di a m o n d s .
They were playing on the beach
when a stranger came and asked,
“Have you heard about the stolen
diamonds?” His voice had a
com anding power in
m it and
immediately Li ly the smallest of
the f ind- outers took a great
l i k i ng towards him. Rodick said,
“ Who are you?” He repl ied,
“Don’t worry, I am not a bad
one. You can even trust me with
your l i f e .” Rodick said, “ Well ,
actual ly we have solved the
mystery and we are f ind ing
someone honest enough to tel l
the outcome of i t .” The man
said, “I’l l ta lk to the pol ice
of th is vi l l age. I am not from
here but st i l l everyone knows
me, can’t tel l you why! You can
guess.” The chi ldren told him
the story. The man said, “ w! Wo

21. You are a bunch of clever kids.
I’l l arrange a meeting at the
pol ice stat ion and cal l Mr. Twig
there.” The chi ldren thanked the
man and went off to Mrs. Marple
to tel l her about the progress.
She said, “Ho can I thank you
w
chi ldren? And I have found the
diamonds. I t was up the pipe.”
The chi ldren went and saw the
pipe leaking as the diamond had
cut through the outer covering!
They al l jumped and said,
“hurray the mystery has solved.
Now for tomorrow’s meeting.”

22. C h a p t e r 9: Th e e n d of th e
my s t e r y .
From the pol ice stat ion they saw
the chief coming out of a car.
When they could see his face
clear ly they were shocked to see
that the chief was the stranger
who they had met the previous
m
day! He came to them and laughed
at their surprised faces and
said, “Hi, how are you al l?” Mr.
Boon, the vi l l age pol iceman
said, “Hello sir . Mr. Boon at
you service. Do you know them
sir? They poke their noses into
my affa i rs…” Inspector Jenks
interrupted, “Yes, I have met
them. These clever chi ldren,
here, have solved the mystery.”
Mr. Boon’s face went pink. He
exclaimed, “ Wha- wha-what!” Jenks
said, “Yes, don’t be surprised.”
And then he related what the
chi ldren had told him. Just as

23. they f in i shed they saw Mr. Twig
coming in . He immediately said,
“I am the th ief . I wanted to
col lect diamonds. Jenks said,
“Its good you owned up and now I
know who you are.” He picked up
a photo of Mr. Twig and said,
“You are Frankl in F. Kennedy.”
And so the pol ice arrested him
and the mystery was up!
Inspector Jenks said, “You
chi ldren need some treat.” And
off they went to an air-
condit ioned bakery shop.
Bye, bye Four f ind- outers. And
bye, bye Micky, the f i f t h f ind-
outer. Bye! I hope you have
another mystery soon!

24. “ A fantast ic mystery about the
stolen jewel lery of Mrs.
Marple’s and how Rodick, David,
Catherine and Li ly solve i t ;
and get yourself taken away by
the mind blowing self sty led
mystery solvers! !”
-Nikhil Bachhawat