Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Soccer Scheme Page 4

  An assistant wrote her remarks on an official judging sheet.

  Mrs. Finley reached Earl’s killifish, Prince. She seemed pleased by what she saw.

  “If I don’t win, I hope Earl does,” Ginger said.

  Mrs. Finley judged two more fish before coming to Lovely Lana. “Hmmm,” she murmured. She shook the vase gently. Lovely Lana bobbed in place. “Hmmm,” she repeated.

  When she had studied all the fish, the assistant handed her the judging sheet. Mrs. Finley read it silently and then announced, “Best in Show, Ginger Butterworth’s killifish!”

  She presented Ginger with the blue ribbon and a fifteen-dollar gift certificate to the Fish and Nip pet shop.

  Earl leaped like a kangaroo. “I can’t believe you chose that fish!” he gasped.

  “Why not, Earl?” Mrs. Finley questioned.

  “Because it’s dead, that’s why not!” Earl wailed. “Anyone can see it’s dead. Dead is dead!”

  “But Earl, it has perfect fins and shows well,” Mrs. Finley said. “It’s just dead.”

  “This is crazy!” Earl blurted. “Crazy!”

  Mrs. Finley dealt with him calmly.

  “Many years ago in Medina, Ohio,” she said, “one fish died sometime after it arrived at the show but before the judging. It won Best in Show and fathered a rule almost forgotten. A fish that dies after arrival at a show can still compete. All the fish were checked when they arrived for the show today. Ginger’s killifish was alive.”

  “You tried to keep Lovely Lana out of the show, Earl,” Sally said, “but you goofed.”

  HOW HAD EARL TRIED?

  (Click here for the solution to “The Case of Lovely Lana.”)

  Solution to The Case of the Friendly Watchdog

  Tex couldn’t be the thief. In order to squeeze through the doggy door and into the house, he would have had to take off his wide-brimmed ten-gallon hat. Morris would have barked at his bald head. But no barking was heard.

  The thief was Hans, who wore a baseball cap. He didn’t have to take it off and show his bald head. He could squeeze through the doggy door without a worry about losing the cap and making Morris bark.

  Solution to The Case of the Red Roses

  Bugs insisted he saw Duke lift a candy bar from Robby’s pocket. Bugs said he saw everything while smelling the roses.

  Impossible! The vase that toppled to the floor spilled out roses but no water. The clerk proved the floor was dry. He would never have knelt on a wet floor. Flowers in a vase without water are artificial. Artificial flowers have no smell!

  To make sure the roses hadn’t been given a scent, as sometimes they do, Encyclopedia sniffed them. His wink at Sally told her the flowers had no scent.

  Mr. Harris let Bugs and Duke off when they bought Robby both candy bars.

  Solution to The Case of the Jelly-Bean Holdup

  When Pistol Pete told her to raise her hands, Trudy was to signal Butch Ribrock with her fingers the number of jelly beans in the jar.

  Trudy was nervous. She showed five fingers on her left hand and only four on her right because of the bent thumb. She thought she was telling Butch 54.

  But she read 54 from her side. The fingers facing the children read 45.

  When Mr. Whitten said the closest number was 45, Butch understood Trudy’s error. He scribbled 54.

  When Mr. Whitten heard that from Encyclopedia, he awarded the jelly beans and basketball to Gaylord Hallstrom, the one who guessed 45.

  Solution to The Case of the Soccer Scheme

  The referee’s calls weren’t honest mistakes, Encyclopedia realized. The calls favored the Cobras. The referee did not know the Chipmunk players. He had to call them by their numbers. He sided with the Cobra players because he knew them well. He called them by their names.

  The president of the soccer league heard what Encyclopedia had to say about the referee. The game was played over with another referee. The Chipmunks won, 3–2.

  Solution to The Case of the Hole in the Book

  When Ms. Moore said “rhyme,” Encyclopedia understood the code. He remembered purple, orange, and month are three of the four words that lack a rhyme. The fourth word, silver, named the guilty boy—Gary Silver.

  Gary admitted to his pals he had sneaked into the restroom for a smoke and took the book with him. Thinking someone was coming in, he quickly snuffed out the cigarette in the book. He hid the cigarette in his pocket.

  One of his pals believed Gary should not get away with ruining the book. Rather than be a snitch, the pal wrote the code. Let someone else figure out the thief.

  Gary had to pay for the book he ruined.

  “One more reason not to smoke,” remarked Encyclopedia.

  Solution to The Case of the April Fools’ Plot

  Lily lied about seeing Chuck bolt the front door while she sat on the couch. Although the couch was the best place from which to see the front door, Lily would never sit down where white cats had slept. She would not want their white cat hair soiling her black dress that she wore when singing with the Black Ties band.

  She had framed Chuck in order for her brother, Horace, to take over the newspaper route. Thanks to Encyclopedia, Chuck got it back.

  Solution to The Case of Wilford’s Big Deal

  Wilford claimed Bruno had just gotten back from three months of prospecting in the desert for gold. The desert was hot and rainless, Wilford said.

  Encyclopedia realized the bright yellow pebbles weren’t bits of gold but merely pebbles painted yellow. Bruno couldn’t have found them in the desert as he claimed.

  Being in the desert sun for three months would have given him a mean sunburn.

  His face, however, was pale.

  Solution to The Case of the Ten-Dollar Bike

  Agatha never meant to sell the bike. She wanted to keep the five dollars that Mitzi gave her. She tried to get Mitzi to call off the sale by tricking her into thinking something was wrong with the bike.

  There was nothing wrong with the pedals, Encyclopedia said.

  Mitzi was looking at the left side of the bike while Agatha rode it. From this view, when the left pedal moved forward, the pedal on the right moved backward. Pedaling moves the chain connected to the back wheel, which makes the wheel turn and the bike move forward. Mitzi was so confused by Agatha, that the pedals turning this way only seemed wrong to her.

  Agatha had to sell the bike to Mitzi for only ten dollars, as she had agreed.

  Solution to The Case of the Hidden Money

  Olga made the mistake of saying the envelopes were on the desk when she went for a drink. She obviously didn’t know she was the last one in the office. Unwittingly she cleared Ed Winslow and Phil Riggs.

  Encyclopedia showed how she hid the money. He pulled out each filing cabinet drawer until it was stopped by a latch. The cabinet was now on the brink of tipping forward. He pushed the top forward lightly. The back rose off the floor, revealing the envelopes and the money.

  Olga quit rather than be arrested.

  Solution to The Case of Lovely Lana

  Earl had Ginger buy Lovely Lana. He feared someone else might buy it who knew how to care for a pet fish and might beat his Prince in the Pet Fish Club Show.

  The vase he gave her had a small opening at the top. He said it would prevent Lovely Lana from jumping out. True, but it would also kill her. It cut down the amount of oxygen in the air from getting to the water. Fish need oxygen to live.

  Earl believed Lovely Lana would die in the same amount of time his two killifish had died from lack of oxygen. She’d be dead before the show. A dead fish, he thought, would not be permitted in the show. He goofed.

  Lovely Lana died during the show. According to the rule, it could still compete.

  Brown and the Case of the Soccer Scheme