"Let's give Captain McGruff a warm school welcome!" said the principal as she introduced the guest speaker in the full gymnasium. Today the Alaska Detective Agency was helping the school with an assembly about safety.
Toby had suggested the Agency make the assembly more exciting by hiding a treasure for the kids to find. He was surprised and puzzled when Captain McGruff really liked the idea. The Captain then hid a gift certificate for an expensive European e-bike near the school as a prize and bragged that his nephew, who attended the school, would be finding the well-hidden prize a few fashionable hours after the assembly.
Captain McGruff's presentation droned on far past his allotted time. "I will tell you about the prize we hid for you kids to find, but first let me explain how I used math to catch a waitress who was stealing money from her customers...."
Toby got bored and wanted to play on his phone, so he glanced around to see if anybody was watching him. One boy was waving at him. Toby recognized him as Jim Hawkins, one of the kids who helped him from time to time as a GPS Irregular. Jim and Toby had chatted several times about puzzles and mysteries. Toby winked back at him and started to put his phone away, but then he pulled it out again and worked on it before it was his turn to talk.
Captain McGruff eventually finished. "... And that is why we hid that e-bike for the smartest and best student in school. Next up, a junior detective, Toby, will have one minute to tell you about bike riding safety."
Toby rolled his eyes involuntarily and scampered to the microphone while the principal tapped on his watch. "Hi everyone. You probably have heard lots of cycling rules before, so let me just quickly emphasize one important one. You should generally ride on the right side of the road with traffic. But if you ride on the sidewalk against traffic, then be aware that cars from side streets won't be expecting traffic from their right side."
Toby locked eyes with Jim Hawkins for a second before continuing. "What do you think would happen if someone rode that European e-bike going north on the left side of C street from the Chester Creek bike path at 21 kilometers per hour, while at the same time you rode your bike south on the right side of C Street from 5th Avenue at 10 miles per hour. That collision would teach you a valuable lesson. Everybody be safe and thanks for listening."
The principal thanked Toby for being brief and Captain McGruff gave Toby a disappointed look. Still, Toby's tail wagged a little on his way back to his seat.
The next day at work, Captain McGruff was in a foul mood. "Toby, that treasure hunt idea of yours was a terrible idea. Some nerdy kid found it right after school before my nephew could even get there. We will have to do something different next time."
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Where was the prize hidden? There is a smiley there now. To check your answer, report the correct coordinates to Certitude within 30 feet.