The Book That Came Back

I purchased a partial set of Outdoor Girls books with dust jackets. The books were packaged quite well with lots of packing peanuts and bubble wrap, so it took me a few minutes to finally get at the books. As I pulled them out of the wrapping one by one, I did a double-take when I saw The Outdoor Girls on a Hike. My immediate reaction was, "I know this book." I was not certain, but my instinct told me that I had once had that specific book in my possession.

Several years ago, I purchased a complete set of Outdoor Girls books on eBay, and the books had water damage along the lower right edges. All of the books had the same area affected by water, and the damage also affected the same part of the dust jackets. I kept some of the books and sold others immediately. Eventually I upgraded most of the books.

This copy of The Outdoor Girls on a Hike had that familiar area of water damage. I opened the book and made note of the name, Eugenia Ward, written inside the book. I also noted that the dust jacket had a Demco mylar cover, which is what I use for my books. Was this book from that set of water-damaged Outdoor Girls books? Was it a book that I had once sold?

I had no idea whether I still had any of those books, but I thought it was quite likely that I had one or two. The Outdoor Girls series is not an easy series to collect. I went to my set of Outdoor Girls books and began checking them for the name Eugenia Ward, beginning with the high-numbered ones. I remember how long it took me to upgrade those water-damaged copies of The Outdoor Girls in the Air and The Outdoor Girls in Desert Valley, so I knew that I should begin checking the series from the last titles in reverse order.

I made it halfway down my set to The Outdoor Girls at Bluff Point. I opened that book to find . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the name Eugenia Ward. A-ha! I was right! How funny is that?

Without getting into all the specific details, I know that I did not get the books I just purchased from the person to whom I sold The Outdoor Girls on a Hike. I was able to search my PayPal account to help make that determination. The book was sold in early July 2005 to someone who was a reseller. The book has obviously changed hands multiple times before finding its way back to me.

By the way, I checked the rest of my Outdoor Girls books, and The Outdoor Girls at Bluff Point is the only one of Eugenia Ward's books that is still in my possession. If not for it, I would not have been able to prove that I had once owned Eugenia's The Outdoor Girls on a Hike. Even without the proof, I would have been convinced of it. There is no mistaking that familiar water damage.