Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective Page 2

  Bugs said, “This sword was given to Stonewall Jackson a month after the First Battle of Bull Run.”

  “If that’s true,” Peter whispered to Encyclopedia, “the sword is worth ten bikes like mine.”

  “Twenty,” corrected Encyclopedia.

  “Read what it says on the blade,” said Bugs.

  Encyclopedia read:

  To Thomas J. Jackson, for standing like a stone wall at the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. This sword is presented to him by his men on August 21, 1861.

  “The sword certainly has seen a lot of use,” said Encyclopedia.

  “Did you expect it to look new and shiny?” sneered Bugs. “It’s more that a hundred years old.”

  “It doesn’t look like it ever was worth five dollars,” Encyclopedia said.

  “Never mind how it looks,” said Peter. “Do you think it belonged to General Jackson?”

  Before Encyclopedia could answer, Bugs spoke up. “I sure hate to part with the sword,” he said. “But Peter wants it so much I just had to say I’d trade it for his bike.”

  “Trade? You won’t trade with Peter,” said Encyclopedia. “This sword never belonged to General Stonewall Jackson!”

  HOW DID ENCYCLOPEDIA KNOW THAT?

  The Case of Merko’s Grandson

  Bugs Meany and his Tigers liked to spend rainy afternoons in their clubhouse. Usually, they sat around thinking up ways of getting even with Encyclopedia Brown.

  But today they had met for another purpose—to cheer the boy detective on.

  Encyclopedia and Sally Kimball were about to meet in a battle of brains.

  The Tigers hated Sally even more than they hated Encyclopedia—and with good reason.

  When Sally had moved into the neighborhood two months ago, the Tigers jumped to show off for her. She was very pretty and she was very good at sports.

  In fact, she got up a team of fifth-grade girls and challenged the Tigers to a game of softball. The boys thought it was a big joke, till Sally started striking them out. She was the whole team. In the last inning she hit the home run that won for the girls, 1-0.

  But the real blow fell on the Tigers the next day.

  Bugs was bullying a small boy when Sally happened to ride by on her bicycle.

  “Let him go!” she ordered, hopping to the ground.

  Bugs snarled. The snarl changed to a gasp as Sally broke his grip on the boy.

  Before the other Tigers knew what to do, Sally had knocked their leader down with a quick left to the jaw.

  Bugs bounced up, surprised and angry. He pushed Sally. She hit him again, with a right to the jaw. Bugs said oooh, and went down again.

  For the next thirty seconds Bugs bounced up and down like a beach ball. By the fourth bounce, he was getting up a lot more slowly than he was going down.

  “I’m going to make you sorry,” he said. But his voice was weak, and he wore the sick smile of a boy who had taken one ride too many on a roller coaster.

  “So?” said Sally. She moved her feet and took careful aim.

  “This,” she said, aiming another blow, “should take the frosting off you.”

  Bugs landed on his back, flat as a fifteen-cent sandwich. Not until Sally had ridden away did he dare get up.

  Sally was not content to rest on her victories at softball and fighting. She aimed higher.

  She set out to prove she was not only stronger than any boy up to twelve years of age in Idaville, but smarter, too!

  That meant out-thinking the thinking machine, Encyclopedia Brown.

  The great battle of brains took place in the Tigers’ clubhouse. The two champions, seated on orange crates, faced each other. The Tigers crowded behind Encyclopedia. The girls’ softball team crowded behind Sally. That left just enough room in the tool shed to think.

  Everyone stopped talking when Peter Clinton, the referee, announced the rules.

  “Sally has five minutes to tell a mystery. She must give all the clues. Then Encyclopedia will have five minutes to solve the mystery. Ready, you two?”

  “Ready,” said the girl champion.

  “Ready,” said Encyclopedia, closing his eyes.

  “Go!” called Peter, eyes on his watch.

  Sally began to tell the story:

  “The Great Merko was the best trapeze artist the world had ever seen. People in every big city were thrilled by the wonderful performer swinging fifty feet above the ground!

  “In the year 1922, Merko died at the very height of fame. In Merko’s desk was found a letter. It was a will, written by the circus star. The will directed that the star’s money be put in a bank for forty years.

  “After forty years, the money was to be taken out and given to Merko’s oldest grandson. If no grandson was alive, all the money was to go to Merko’s nearest relative, man or woman.

  “Forty years passed. A search was begun. At last a man was found in Kansas City who said he was Merko’s grandson. His name was Fred Gibson. He went to court to claim his inheritance.

  “While the judge was listening to him, a tall woman in the back of the courtroom jumped up. She was very excited.

  “The woman said she was the trapeze artist’s grandniece. She kept shouting that the Great Merko was not Fred Gibson’s grandfather. Therefore, the money was rightfully hers.

  “The judge questioned the woman. He had to agree with what she said. She was Merko’s grandniece, and the Great Merko was not Fred Gibson’s grandfather.

  The two champions faced each other.

  “Now,” concluded Sally. “Who got Merko’s money—the tall woman or Fred Gibson?”

  Sally wore a smile of triumph as she looked at Encyclopedia.

  The tool shed was still. The boys looked at their shoes. Had Sally beaten them again? Had Encyclopedia met his master?

  Encyclopedia had five short minutes to solve the brain-twister.

  Slowly the minutes ticked away. One ... two ... three ... four ...

  Encyclopedia stirred on his orange crate. He opened his eyes. He smiled at Sally.

  “You told it very cleverly,” he said. “I nearly said the wrong person. But the answer is really quite simple.”

  Encyclopedia rose to leave. “The Great Merko’s money went to Fred Gibson.”

  WHY DID ENCYCLOPEDIA SAY THAT?

  The Case of the Bank Robber

  “Three dollars and fifty cents!” exclaimed Encyclopedia, as he finished counting the money in the treasury of the Brown Detective Agency. “Business is booming.”

  “You should put that money in a bank,” said Sally Kimball, whom Encyclopedia had made his bodyguard and junior partner. “Money isn’t safe in a shoe box.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” said Encyclopedia. “Sometimes even shoes aren’t safe in a shoe box. It would look awful if a detective agency was robbed!”

  The partners talked it over. They decided to take the money downtown to a bank and start a savings account.

  It was too far to ride on their bicycles, so they took the bus. They got off near the Coming National Bank on Beech Street. As they stepped out of the bus, they heard the sound of shooting.

  At first Encyclopedia thought the bus had backfired. A moment later he saw a man in the doorway of the bank.

  The man wore a hat. A handkerchief covered the lower part of his face. In one hand he held a yellow paper bag. With the other he waved a gun.

  Somebody shouted, “Holdup! Holdup!” Then, all at once, everybody was running, trying to get out of the robber’s way.

  The man with the gun turned and fled. In his haste he did not seem to look where he was going. He ran into a beggar wearing dark glasses and carrying a white cane and tin cup.

  The beggar’s cane and cup flew into the street. The robber and the beggar fell to the sidewalk. They rolled about together for a few seconds before the robber broke away and got to his feet.

  He raced down the street just as a police car drew up before the bank. Chief Brown and one of his officers leaped out of the
car and ran after the robber.

  “We caught him,” said Chief Brown at dinner that night. “He led us a merry chase, but we got him. The trouble is we can’t charge him with the robbery.”

  “But why not?” Mrs. Brown demanded.

  “Yes, Dad, why not?” Encyclopedia asked. “Wasn’t the money he stole in that yellow paper bag he was carrying?”

  Chief Brown laid down his fork. “Do you know what we found in that yellow bag of his? Money? No. A loaf of white bread! He resisted police officers, but I don’t know how long we can keep him in jail.”

  “Are you sure you caught the right man, Dad?” Encyclopedia said.

  “We’ll have a hard time proving it,” said Chief Brown. “No one can identify him. And nobody saw the robber’s face. He wore a handkerchief over his nose and mouth and his hat was pulled down over his forehead and eyes. This man we picked up is wearing a brown suit, and the teller at the bank says the robber wore a suit the same color. And, of course, there is the yellow bag. But where’s the money?”

  “Does the man you picked up have any distinguishing features?” Encyclopedia wanted to know.

  “Well, he has a pug nose and a scar running down one cheek. But remember, no one saw the robber’s face,” said Chief Brown. “I can hold him in jail overnight for resisting a police officer. That’s about all.”

  “I never saw a beggar in Idaville before today,” said Encyclopedia thoughtfully.

  “Oh, the blind man,” said Chief Brown. “He seems like a nice old fellow. He calls himself ‘Blind Tom.’ I hated to tell him it’s against the law to beg here.”

  “The poor man,” said Mrs. Brown. “Won’t the Salvation Army help him?”

  “Yes,” replied Chief Brown. “But he said he likes being on his own. He promised to leave town tomorrow.”

  “Where is he staying?” asked Encyclopedia.

  “At the old Martin Inn,” answered Chief Brown. “One of those buildings in the row down by the railroad tracks. Why do you ask? Have you got an idea about this case, Leroy?”

  “No,” mumbled Encyclopedia.

  Mrs. Brown looked hurt. She had come to expect her son to solve a case before dessert.

  After dinner, Encyclopedia walked over to Sally’s house. “I have to work this evening,” he said. “I may need you. Want to come?”

  “Oh, boy, do I!” Sally sang out.

  The sky was growing dark as the two detectives rode their bicycles down a dingy block west of the railroad station.

  “Who lives here?” asked Sally as Encyclopedia stopped in front of a run-down hotel.

  “Blind Tom, the beggar. He’ll be leaving town tomorrow. That’s why we have to see him this evening.”

  “Do you think he can help us?” asked Sally.

  “I think so. A blind man sees with his hands,” replied Encyclopedia. “Remember how the beggar rolled with the robber on the sidewalk? If he felt the robber’s face through the handkerchief, he might know him again.”

  “I get it,” said Sally. “If he could feel the man’s face again, he might know whether the man your father caught is really the robber!”

  “Right,” answered Encyclopedia.

  “Gosh,” said Sally, “I hope he hasn’t left town yet!”

  Inside the hotel, the desk clerk gave the two young detectives some help. Blind Tom lived alone. His room was Number 214.

  Sally and Encyclopedia climbed the dark, creaky stairs to the second floor. They knocked on the door numbered 214. Nobody answered.

  “Look, the door’s not shut,” whispered Sally. “Shall I—”

  Encyclopedia nodded.

  Sally pushed the door till it swung open so that they could look into the room.

  The room was small and shabby. Against the far wall stood an iron bed. A small reading lamp cast its light upon a copy of the Idaville Daily News that lay open on the pillow.

  “Who lives here?” Sally asked.

  Suddenly the tapping of a cane sounded in the hall. Tap ... tap ... tap ...

  Blind Tom came up behind Sally.

  “Is someone here?” he asked. “I haven’t had a visitor in a long time. I wasn’t expecting anyone tonight, but it’s nice to have you.” He lifted his cane. “Won’t you come in?”

  “No, thanks!” said Encyclopedia. He pushed Sally down the hall and hurried her down the stairs.

  She didn’t have a chance to catch her breath until they were outside the hotel.

  “Why the big rush?” Sally asked. “I thought you were going to ask Blind Tom if he could recognize the man who robbed the bank this afternoon.”

  “I don’t have to ask him,” replied Encyclopedia. “Blind Tom knows the robber, because Blind Tom helped in the robbery!”

  HOW DID ENCYCLOPEDIA KNOW THIS?

  The Case of the Happy Nephew

  The Browns were having left-over meat loaf for dinner one night when the telephone rang.

  “It must be important,” said Mrs. Brown worriedly. “Otherwise why would anyone call during the dinner hour?”

  She hurried to the telephone. In a moment she called to her husband, “It’s Officer Carlson, dear.”

  Chief Brown went to the telephone and spoke with his officer for several minutes. When he returned to the dining room, he wore a frown—and his gun.

  “The Princess Bake Shop on Vine Street was robbed less than an hour ago,” he said. “I’ll have to go out.”

  “Any clues, Dad?” asked Encyclopedia.

  “We have an eyewitness,” answered his father. “A man passing the bakery says he saw John Abbot running out the door.”

  “Hasn’t John Abbot been in prison?” asked Mrs. Brown.

  “Five years ago,” said Chief Brown. “But he’s gone straight ever since he came out. The eyewitness only got a quick look at the robber; he might be mistaken.”

  Chief Brown shrugged. “Still, I suppose I’ll have to stop by and question John. I hope he has a good alibi.”

  “Can I go with you?” cried Encyclopedia.

  “May I go with you,” his mother said. “And drink your milk first.”

  “May I go with you, Dad?” Encyclopedia asked. He gulped his milk.

  “Come along if you like,” said his father. “But you will have to stay in the car—and be quiet.”

  “I’ll be as quiet as a cat at a dog show,” promised Encyclopedia.

  He sat quietly beside his father in the police car on the drive to the house where John Abbot lived with his sister and her family.

  “Staying in the car won’t be so bad,” Encyclopedia decided. “The car will be a lot closer to the case than our dining room.”

  On the west side of town his father stopped the car. “Here’s the house.”

  Encyclopedia saw a small white house in need of paint. An old yellow car stood in the shaded driveway.

  “There’s John,” said Chief Brown.

  A tall young man had come out of the house. He was carrying a barefoot boy about a year and a half old.

  Chief Brown reminded Encyclopedia to sit quietly in the car. Then he got out and walked toward John Abbot.

  “Put the child down, John,” Chief Brown called. “And keep your hands where I can see them.”

  John Abbot started to lower the barefoot baby onto the sharp stones of the gravel driveway. Then he changed his mind and put the child on the front fender of the yellow car, and raised his hands.

  “What’s this all about, Chief?” he asked.

  “Robbery,” replied Chief Brown. “You were seen running out of the Princess Bake Shop on Vine Street an hour ago. The door was broken and all the money in the cash register was stolen.”

  John Abbot laughed. “I wasn’t near Vine Street an hour ago. Why, all day—”

  “Look out!” shouted Chief Brown. He leaped for the baby.

  The child had climbed onto the hood of the yellow car. He smiled and gurgled happily. Suddenly he stood up and walked close to the edge of the hood. Chief Brown caught him just as he star
ted to fall off the car.

  “Thanks, Chief,” said John Abbot. “He’s my nephew. I’ll hold him.”

  “No, I’ll hold him,” said Chief Brown. “Just tell me where you were today.”

  “Look out!” shouted Chief Brown.

  “Anyone who says he saw me coming out of the Princess Bake Shop an hour ago is either crazy or a liar,” said John Abbot.

  “Can you prove you were somewhere else?”

  “I was miles away,” said John Abbot. “Since eight o’lock this morning I’ve been driving this car. I drove down from Sundale Shores. I got here just five minutes before you came.”

  Chief Brown looked at his watch. “You drove six hundred miles in less than twelve hours,” he said. “Did you stop around six o’clock and talk to anyone? Somebody we can check your story with?”

  “No, not around six o’clock,” said John Abbot. “I stopped for gas and a hamburger about four-thirty. Then I drove straight through. I didn’t break any speed limit. And I had nothing to do with any bake shop robbery!”

  “I’d like to think you are telling the truth,” said Chief Brown.

  “I am. I’ve gone straight, believe me,” said John Abbot.

  “All right,” said Chief Brown. “I’ll have to question the eyewitness who says he saw you. Maybe it will turn out that he isn’t sure.”

  Chief Brown put the baby in John Abbot’s arms and walked back to the police car.

  “I heard and saw everything, Dad,” said Encyclopedia. “How come you didn’t arrest him?”

  “Because he says he was driving from Sundale Shores when the robbery took place,” answered Chief Brown. “He got here just five minutes before we came. I can’t prove he is lying. At least not yet.”

  He slipped into the seat beside Encyclopedia, and started the car.

  “Listen to me, Leroy,” he said. “Our eyewitness may have made a mistake. He may have seen a man who only looked like John Abbot. A good police officer doesn’t put people in jail without more proof than that.”

  “I believe the witness,” said Encyclopedia. “John Abbot didn’t just drive in from Sundale Shores in that old yellow car. I can prove he didn’t!”