"We were a bit lonesome, at first, as it is large, but we hope to get
over that part in a little while.

"What brought me down here is to see Mr. Ripley, and find out something
about the place he sold me. I must find out something about Great
Hedge."

"Here is where the riddle comes in," said Russ in a whisper to his
sister. "We must listen hard now."

"What do you want to find out about Great Hedge, Father?" asked Daddy
Bunker. "Do you think you paid too much for it?"

"No, I got it very cheap. But there is something queer about it, and I
want to find out if Mr. Ripley can tell me what it is."

"Something queer?" repeated Mrs. Bunker.

"Yes, a sort of mystery," went on Grandpa Ford. "It's a puzzle to me. A
riddle I should call it if I were Laddie. By the way, I hope the
children don't hear me tell this, or they might be frightened."

"No, they have all gone out to play," said Mrs. Bunker. "They can not
hear you."

"So there is something wrong about Great Hedge, is there?" asked Daddy
Bunker. "By the way," he went on, "I have never been there, but I
suppose it is called that because it has a big hedge around it."

"That is it," said Grandpa Ford. "All around the house, enclosing it