A-Z Mysteries

The Ninth Nugget

Chapter 1

1.What was ‘Western Wheat’? (p1)

  1. a dude ranch
  2. a circus
  3. a sheep farm

2.Who picked the children up from the airport? (p2)

  1. a taxi driver
  2. Josh’s parents
  3. Jud Wheat

3. Why did the children go to ‘Western Wheat’? (p6)

  1. Because they loved horses.
  2. Because it was a gift from their friend.
  3. Because they saw it on TV.

4. Who was the cook at ‘Western Wheat’? (p8)

  1. Jud
  2. Lulu
  3. Ma Wheat

5. Who was Thumbs? (p10)

  1. the dog
  2. the man with only one thumb
  3. Jud’s father

Chapter 2

1. Where did the children stay on the ranch? (p11)

  1. in the main house
  2. in a cabin
  3. in a tent

2. What was Ed Getz’s job? (p14)

  1. a magician
  2. a scientist
  3. an actor

3. How many people were eating at the table? (p15)

  1. eight
  2. ten
  3. twelve

4. Why did everyone go outside after dinner? (p18)

  1. Because the house was on fire.
  2. Because there was a bonfire.
  3. Because it was raining.

5. What did Thumbs tell the group? (p20)

  1. a story about bears
  2. a story about his thumb
  3. a story about fire

Chapter 3

1. Why did Dink think a grizzly bear wouldn’t want Josh? (p23)

  1. Because he was too brave.
  2. Because he was too skinny.
  3. Because he was too scary.

2. What woke Dink in the night? (p25)

  1. a thump outside the cabin
  2. a thunder storm
  3. the telephone

3. What did Dink see in front of the window? (p26)

  1. a dog
  2. a light
  3. a dark shape

4. Where did the children go for breakfast? (p27)

  1. to the forest
  2. to the main house
  3. to Ellie’s Diner

5. Who heard noises in the night? (p28)

  1. Jud
  2. Thumbs
  3. Dink

Chapter 4

1. After breakfast, where did the guests go? (p30)

  1. cycling in the road
  2. running in the forest
  3. panning for gold

2. Who showed the guests how to find gold? (p30)

  1. Ed Getz
  2. Thumbs
  3. Lulu

3. Why did Josh move upstream? (p34)

  1. Because he wanted to find real gold.
  2. Because he wanted to look for bears.
  3. Because he didn’t like Dink.

4. Why did Josh yell? (p35)

  1. Because a bear was chasing him.
  2. Because he hurt his leg.
  3. Because he found a chunk of gold.

5. How many nuggets did the group find? (p34-35)

a. eight

b. nine

c. ten

Chapter 5

1. What could the expert do the next day? (p37)

  1. examine the gold
  2. steal the gold
  3. break the gold

2. Where did Josh put his gold nugget? (p38)

  1. in his bag
  2. in the safe
  3. under his bed

3. What did the group do after lunch? (p39)

  1. gardening
  2. swimming
  3. horse riding

4. Why didn’t Ed Getz go riding? (p41)

  1. Because he sprained his ankle.
  2. Because he was scared of horses.
  3. Because he had to work.

5. Who took Ed to the cabins? (p42)

  1. Lulu
  2. Josh
  3. Fiona

Chapter 6

1. Where did the horses stop to eat? (p44)

  1. by a river
  2. in a meadow
  3. along the road

2. Who would teach Josh to throw a lasso? (p46)

  1. Jud
  2. Thumbs
  3. Ed Getz

3. Where did Jud, Seth, and Bonnie go? (p47)

  1. back to the cabin
  2. to the supermarket
  3. on a nature hike

4. Why did the group go back to the ranch? (p50)

  1. Because a storm came.
  2. Because Ruth Rose hurt herself.
  3. Because they were hungry.

5. Why did Jud run towards the barn door? (p51)

  1. Because a horse ran away.
  2. Because the dinner bell didn’t stop ringing.
  3. Because he saw a bear.

Chapter 7

1. Where did the people find Lulu? (p53)

  1. in Fiona’s cabin
  2. in the bathroom
  3. in the office

2. What was missing from the safe in the office? (p54)

  1. papers
  2. Josh’s gold nugget
  3. green account books

3. Where was Fiona? (p56)

  1. fishing
  2. tied up in her cabin
  3. shopping at the store

4. Why were Ed’s hands behind his back? (p56)

  1. Because they were handcuffed.
  2. Because it was a magic trick.
  3. Because it was a game.

5. How did Ed get to the main house? (p58)

  1. on in-line skates
  2. in a wheelchair
  3. on crutches

Chapter 8

1. Who did Lulu, Fiona, and Ed tell their story to? (p59)

  1. the newspaper
  2. the dog
  3. the sheriff

2. What color were the clothes the robber wore? (p59)

  1. grey
  2. black
  3. brown

3. Why were there no fingerprints on the safe? (p61)

  1. Because the robber cleaned the safe.
  2. Because the robber wore gloves.
  3. Because the robber had no fingers.

4. Who knew the combination of the lock on the safe? (p61)

  1. Ma, Pa, and Jud
  2. Thumbs and Lulu
  3. Josh, Dink, and Ruth Rose

5. Who wasn’t at the beginning of the horse ride? (p63)

  1. Thumbs
  2. Bonnie
  3. Jud

Chapter 9

1. What did the robber use to tie up Fiona and Lulu? (p65)

  1. sweaters
  2. strings
  3. ropes

2. Why did Ruth Rose want to look in the cabins? (p67)

  1. Because she wanted to steal money.
  2. Because she wanted to look for clues.
  3. Because they could hide.

3. Whose chair was empty at the dinner table? (p69)

  1. Pa Wheat’s
  2. Josh’s
  3. Thumbs’s

4. What did everyone do after dinner? (p70)

  1. sing songs
  2. play cards
  3. tell stories

5. What project did Josh tell Ma Wheat they had to do? (p71)

  1. study constellations
  2. catch butterflies
  3. plant a tree

Chapter 10

1. What did Dink see in Ed’s bathroom? (p73)

  1. a stethoscope
  2. a rubber duck
  3. a soccer ball

2. Why would Josh’s mother love Thumbs? (p76)

  1. Because he was smelly.
  2. Because he was so neat.
  3. Because he was so messy.

3. Did the children find the gold in the cabins? (p77)

  1. Yes.
  2. No.
  3. We don’t know.

4. Who did the children see go into the cabin? (p77)

  1. Ed Getz
  2. Fiona
  3. Thumbs

5. What was Ed doing in his cabin? (p79)

  1. dancing
  2. shouting
  3. packing

Chapter 11

1. What tumbled out of Ed’s sock? (p81)

  1. a rope
  2. a spider
  3. Josh’s gold nugget

2. Who caught Ed with a rope? (p82)

  1. Thumbs
  2. Josh
  3. Lulu

3. Where was Ed taken? (p83)

  1. to bed
  2. to the Bozeman jailhouse
  3. to the river

4. What would Josh do with his gold nugget? (p86)

  1. buy a car
  2. go on vacation
  3. give it to save the ranch

5. Why did Josh run out of the room screaming? (p87)

  1. Because Ma and Lulu tried to kiss him.
  2. Because he saw a snake.
  3. Because he lost the gold.

Dictation

  1. As he reached for the kids’ backpacks, Dink saw that one of the man’s thumbs was missing.
  1. He wiggled his fingers at the kids. “I’m amagician. I’m trying to be an actor, but there’s not much work.”
  1. The next morning, the breakfast bell woke the kids.
  1. “I don’t see any gold,” Josh observed, peering into the water.
  1. The nugget was as large as Josh’s hand and almost as flat.
  1. “Will you teach me to throw a lasso?” Josh asked Jud.
  1. Josh found the key. When Ed sat up, Dink and Josh saw that his hands had been cuffed to the iron bed board.
  1. “Lulu,” Ma said, “did you happen to notice how this character got the safe open?”
  1. “Josh, never mind how neat he is. Did you find any clues?” Ruth Rose asked.
  1. The rope tightened. Ed stumbled, then fell to the ground with a thud.