The Secret of the Crooked Cat - Arden William - Страница 22

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“No,” Jupiter said. “Khan isn’t the robber.”

Khan growled, “I told them that, boy.”

“He’s an impostor, Jupiter,” Mr. Carson said, “and he was searching Andy’s trailer. You saw him!”

“No, sir, I don’t think he was,” Jupiter said politely but firmly. “When Pete and I were under the tarpaulin in that boat, I realized that there must have been two men, and that Khan was chasing the real robber. When he heard us in the fun house, he thought we were the robber.”

“How do you deduce that, Jupiter?” Chief Reynolds asked.

“He warned us that he saw us, Chief,” Jupiter said “That is how a pursuer acts, not someone being pursued. The real robber would have wanted to remain hidden from us!”

The chief nodded, “Well, yes, I see. But you can’t — ”

“Also,” Jupiter went on boldly, “Khan was bare to the waist when we saw him, and wearing only those tights. His hands were empty. He had no place to carry a pistol or a knife, and the man who set us adrift had both a pistol and a knife!”

“The boy is smarter than any of you,” Khan declared.

“Finally,” Jupiter added, “in the boat we distinctly heard the sound of soft, rubber-soled shoes on the man who cut us loose. You can all see that Khan is wearing his heavy boots.”

Khan laughed. “I told you I was in the clear.”

“Well, Mr. Khan, I wouldn’t say that,” Jupiter pronounced. “I believe you are an impostor, and you are up to something you don’t want known! You are in the carnival for some devious purpose. I expect Chief Reynolds can find out if he asks the right questions in the right place.”

The First Investigator was looking at Khan with a cool smile. The strong man glanced round, and then looked straight back at Jupiter. At last he sighed.

“I guess you are a smart boy at that,” Khan said. “All right. Yes, I’m here for a secret purpose. I’m a real strong man, but I retired a few years ago to become a private detective. My real name is Paul Harney, and Andy’s grandmother hired me to keep an eye on Andy and the show. She honestly believes that carnival life is wrong for Andy. She sent me to protect him and to see how dangerous the show is.”

“You didn’t cause our accidents?” Mr. Carson demanded.

“No, but when they began to happen I became worried. I did try to persuade you to close the show, Carson. I snooped around because the accidents seemed to endanger Andy, and I wanted to be sure they were just accidents.”

“You were protecting Andy?” Mr. Carson said.

“Yes, Carson. That was my job,” Khan replied.

Jupiter frowned. “Most commendable, Mr. Khan, or Harney, but I don’t think it’s the whole truth. You were at Andy’s equipment trailer because you suspected that what the robber wanted might be in the trailer. You weren’t protecting Andy!”

Khan’s eyes glittered. He was silent for a moment. Then he nodded. “You’re right, son. After the police questioned us all in San Mateo, I had a hunch that the bank robber was a member of the carnival. I’m a detective, and it would help my reputation if I caught a bank robber by myself. So I began to investigate. After Andy’s cat was stolen, I guessed that the robber had put something in those crooked cats. But no one in the show fits the robber’s description, and by now he has what he wanted. It wasn’t in one of those cats after all.”

“Jiminy,” Andy said. “I guess it fell out of the cat.”

Everyone else nodded glumly. All except Jupiter.

“On the contrary, fellows,” the First Investigator declared. “What the robber wanted was in a crooked cat, and I believe that it still is in a crooked cat!”

“But, Jupiter,” Andy protested, “I only had five crooked cats, and the robber found them all!”

“No, Andy, you had six cats,” Jupiter declared triumphantly. “You had five you gave out here, but you have a sixth crooked cat — and we all saw it!”

Pete gaped. “We did, Jupe?”

“Where, First?” Bob demanded.

“Right before our eyes the first night,” Jupiter said dramatically. “So obvious we overlooked it. You recall that first night in Andy’s truck when Andy showed us his broken — ”

Andy cried, “My broken prizes! In my work-basket! There is a crooked cat. It was burned in the San Mateo fire!”

“So it was in the shooting gallery the night of the fire,” Jupiter said. “The robber hid whatever it is in that crooked cat, but it was damaged by the fire, and Andy took it away to repair. The robber never thought of that! But in the boat I realized that if the robber was still trying to get Pete and me out of the way, he still didn’t have what he wanted even after searching Andy’s trailer. I reasoned that there had to be a sixth crooked cat — and then I remembered Andy’s work-basket!”

“Wow,” Pete exclaimed in awe. “We’d never have thought of that, First.”

“I never did, and I had the cat!” Andy said.

“It looks like the robber didn’t think of it, either boys,” Chief Reynolds said with a smile. “Fine work, Jupiter! I’m proud to have you as a junior assistant deputy.”

Jupiter grinned proudly. “Well, sir, it was only logical once I realized — ”

The First Investigator’s words trailed off, and his head came up alertly. He looked round in the dark night.

“Chief! Someone is running away from here!”

Then they all heard it — someone runing fast, back towards the amusement park fence. The crowd of police and roughnecks all turned to look.

“Who is that running away?” Chief Reynolds demanded.

“I don’t know, sir. We’re all here,” a policeman said.

“Some man, he was standing here I think,” a roughneck said. “I didn’t notice who he was.”

“Did anyone notice a stranger?” Mr. Carson asked.

Everyone shook his head. Then Bob exclaimed:

“Where’s Khan!”

The strong man was nowhere to be seen!

“Quick, everyone,” Jupiter suddenly cried. “Whoever it is heard all about the sixth cat! Hurry, Chief!”

They all ran across the abandoned amusement park and through the hole in the fence. As the last customers stared at them, they dashed through the carnival to where the trucks and wagons stood. Andy dashed inside his trailer. He came back out almost at once.

“The crooked cat, it’s gone! He got it!”

Chief Reynolds cried, “Block all exits!”

“Search the grounds!” Mr. Carson ordered his roughnecks.

The police and roughnecks went into action.

“He’s got the crooked cat,” Chief Reynolds, declared, “but he won’t get out with it! We’re too close behind him.”

“Chief?” Pete asked. “Could it be Khan?”

“Was he lying all the time, after all?” Mr. Carson wondered.

“I don’t know. He’s a slick talker,” the Chief said.

“Maybe he was hired by Grandma,” Andy said, “but is the bank robber, too.”

“I’ve known detectives to go wrong,” Chief Reynolds said grimly. “But if he has, this time we’ll get him. We’re too close for him to have time to examine the cat and dispose of it. He’ll have to try to leave the grounds, and we know what he looks like now.”

“What if it isn’t Khan, sir?” Pete asked. “We won’t know who it is then, and he can hide the cat and just wait.”

“No, Pete,” Chief Reynolds shook his head. “This carnival isn’t that big. We’d find the crooked cat and him. Sooner or later he must try to escape now, and we’ll have him. He can’t possibly get out with that cat. Jupiter I think — ” The Chief turned to find the First Investigator. Jupiter was nowhere around!

“Jupe!” Pete called.

“Jupiter? Where are you?” Chief Reynolds shouted.

There was no answer.

“I don’t remember seeing him with us at all!” Bob said.

“Not since we left the old amusement park,” Mr. Carson said.

“Well, he can’t be far,” said Chief Reynolds.

Pete said shakily, “Unless he saw the robber and followed him!”

“Now be calm, Pete,” Mr. Carson said.

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