The Secret of the Crooked Cat - Arden William (е книги .TXT) 📗

“No… he couldn’t,” Jupiter said slowly, dismayed.

The old clown looked at the ground. “I… I was hired. I admit I took that crooked cat. He said he’d pay me ten thousand dollars! He gave me the gun, but I don’t even know how to use it I’m sorry I threatened you. I was afraid.”

“Who hired you?” Chief Reynolds demanded. The old clown looked round. “Him! Khan! He hired me.”

The strong man grew red. “He’s lying! I told you — ”

“I’m telling the truth,” the old clown insisted. “Don’t take my word, Chief. Take us both to jail, and then check on Khan. I know I’ve got punishment coming, but Khan hired me.”

For a moment everyone stood staring at both the old clown and Khan. The clown’s arm was pointing at Khan, and Jupiter was staring hard at both the clown and Khan. Then the First Investigator’s eyes gleamed.

“One of them is lying, Chief,” he said, “and I know that it’s the old clown!”

Chief Reynolds demanded, “How do you know that, Jupiter?”

“The clown isn’t an old man at all,” Jupiter declared. “He’s disguised in reverse”

“Huh?” Pete exclaimed.

“Yes, Second,” Jupiter insisted. “We’re been looking for a man who disguised himself as the swarthy tattooed man to rob the bank and fool us — for someone who put on a disguise. But he didn’t do that. No, he’s been disguised all along as the old man clown! To rob the bank, and buy the cats, he took off his disguise! Under that old man’s face is our real robber!”

The old clown began to struggle, but the police held him firmly. Chief Reynolds felt the clown’s face, pulled at the white hair, dug at the wrinkled skin.

“Jupiter! I can’t get anything off his face!” he said.

“Modern disguise is very clever,” Jupiter said. “Look all the way down on his neck.”

The Chief pulled down the collar of the clown costume. They all saw a faint line round the clown’s neck. Chief Reynolds dug his fingernails under it, tugged hard upward — and the old man’s whole face, hair and neck skin came off in one piece of solid plastic!

The clown stood revealed as a swarthy, dark eyed man — just as he had looked when he had bought the crooked cats.

“It’s him, the tattooed man!” Pete cried. “Without his tattoo!”

Mr. Carson peered at the glaring robber. “And he is The Amazing Gabbo, too! He’s changed, but it’s Gabbo. So, you’re a bank robber now, Gabbo?”

The robber snarled, “Go to the devil, Carson! All of you! I’d have got away except for those stupid kids!”

“Kids, Mr. Gabbo,” Chief Reynolds said grimly, “but not stupid. Take him and lock him up, men!”

As the glaring Gabbo was led away, Chief Reynolds turned to face Jupiter once more.

“All right, Jupiter, he had us fooled to the end,” the Chief said. “That disguise was so perfect he might have escaped after all. You noticed how he wanted us to take him to jail with Khan? If he’d had a moment alone, even in jail, he would have stripped off that disguise, and perhaps walked away! How did you know it was a double disguise?”

“Well, sir, his plastic face was perfect,” Jupiter said proudly, “but he forgot to disguise his hands! His hands were smooth, firm, dark and without wrinkles or age spots — young hands, Chief.”

“By George,” Chief Reynolds said, “you’re right again!”

Bob and Pete both groaned aloud. “He always is, sir,” Bob said in mock despair.

“Most of the time, anyway,” Pete said.

Jupiter only beamed in triumph.

22

A Report to Alfred Hitchcock

The next day, after Bob had written up the report of the case, the boys took it to their friend and mentor Alfred Hitchcock. The famous director read it, and immediately agreed to introduce the case for the boys once more.

“The Secret of the Crooked Cat.” the great movie director intoned. “A most intriguing title for a most satisfactory exercise in gimlet-eyed observation and skilful deduction! You have all done well to end the nefarious career of The Amazing Gabbo before he could do more damage, boys!”

“He turned out to be wanted in the state of Ohio for an earlier robbery, sir,” Bob said.

“That was one reason he joined the carnival in disguise,” Jupiter explained. “He heard that Mr. Carson was taking the show to California. To escape any detection, he assumed his old man’s disguise from the first. Later, he had the idea of robbing the San Mateo bank as himself, but with the fake tattoo to distract witnesses.”

“Most ingenious,” Mr. Hitchcock commented thoughtfully. “I presume he then deposited his loot in that left-luggage room, and planned to slip back into the carnival, and simply leave town as the old clown — totally unsuspected as the younger robber!”

“Yes, sir,” Jupiter agreed. “But when he was discovered accidentally at the carnival, he set off the fire to have time to hide the left-luggage ticket and get back into his old man’s disguise. Only he failed in his haste to count the crooked cats. He didn’t realize that there were six until he heard me tell Chief Reynolds what I had deduced.”

Mr. Hitchcock nodded. “He moved too carefully at first, as you deduced, Jupiter, and became too desperate later. The typical criminal mind, not very smart after all. I imagine he will pay for his errors in a California prison, eh?”

“And after that Ohio wants him!” Pete said. “He won’t be performing his human fly act for a long time.”

“No!” Mr. Hitchcock mused, “unless there is a prison carnival! An idea that has great merit, boys. It might teach your foolish Gabbo to use his skills more wisely.”

“Perhaps you should suggest that to the prison authorities, sir,” Jupiter said with a grin.

“Me? Well, perhaps, young man,” Mr. Hitchcock said hastily. “But what of young Andy Carson’s grandmother? Will she, too, mend her opinions of Mr. Carson and carnivals?”

“She already has, sir,” Bob said. “Khan, I mean Paul Harney, reported to her that the carnival is a good life for Andy, and quite safe.”

“She is at least resigned to agreeing that a boy is best with his Dad,” Jupiter added.

“Mr. Harney liked being a strong man again so much,” Pete said, “that he’s staying with the carnival instead of going back to being a plain detective.”

“Ah, is he?” Mr. Hitchcock smiled. “I wonder if his decision may have been influenced by the demonstration of true detective skill by you boys, eh?”

Jupiter grinned. “Well, sir, I couldn’t say.”

“No, it will remain Khan’s secret, I expect,” the famous director said. “One point, my young friends. How did the loss of the carnival pony ride fit into the affair?”

“It was just a real accident after all,” Bob explained.

“The piece that didn’t fit, of course,” Mr. Hitchcock nodded. “So that ends your adventure with the carnival?”

“Well, almost,” Jupiter said.

Pete blurted out, “Jupe’s going to be a clown for a couple of days! Mr. Carson is letting him take Gabbo’s place for the rest of the performances in Rocky Beach.”

“Bravo, Jupiter!” Mr. Hitchcock cried. “Perhaps I shall come to see you perform.”

With that, the boys trooped out of the famous director’s office. Left alone, Mr. Hitchcock smiled at the thought of Jupiter as a clown and wondered what the boys would come up with next.