“That sounds fine, Ted,” the First Investigator agreed. “Konrad can start making a partial list of what’s here.”
“I’ll send a beer out for him,” Ted said.
“A beer is good.” The Bavarian grinned.
Inside the big, house, the boys were taken into a cool, informal room with dark, antique Spanish furniture. Ted went to ask the maid to bring the lemonade. When he came back, he was with a bird-like woman whose hands fluttered up to her neat white hair. Her pale eyes lit up with pleasure.
“I’m Sarah Sandow. I’m so glad to see that Theodore has found friends. He tells me you’re from the salvage yard. I want to dispose of everything. I’ve been letting things accumulate for far too long.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jupiter said, as Bob and Pete nodded.
“Now that Theodore is here I’m beginning to take an interest in things again. The estate is in dreadful disrepair.”
The maid brought in the lemonade and biscuits, and Miss Sandow served them herself. She seemed happy to have the boys in the house.
“After last night,” she explained, as the boys began to eat, “Ted convinced me that it wasn’t safe to have all those things lying out in the barn.”
The boys tensed, and Jupiter said, “Last night, ma’am?”
“A gold statuette was stolen. From under our noses,” Miss Sandow said indignantly. “It was one of two which my poor brother Mark left behind when he had to run away. They were all I had of Mark’s.”
“It was really my fault, chaps,” Ted explained. “You see, my dad had mentioned that my grandfather had told him about two little gold statues. I found them lying forgotten at the bottom of a drawer and was examining them in the library. I left the library, and when I came back one of them was gone?”
“You don’t know who took it?” Jupiter asked.
“We know it was some boy. Mr. Harris saw him.”
“That I did, boys,” said a deep voice from the direction of the door.
The boys turned and saw a healthy-looking man in a bright sports jacket and Bermuda shorts that displayed his long, knobbly legs. His grey eyes had a twinkle in them. His hair was sandy-coloured, and a small scar on his ruddy face give him a perpetual smile.
Ted introduced them, explaining that Mr. Harris was a friend of his Aunt Sarah’s.
“Interested in our robbery, are you, boys?” asked Mr. Harris with a smile. He spoke with an English accent that was somehow different from Ted’s. It sounded to Jupiter like a slightly cockney accent.
“Saw a boy running from the house and chased him to the gates. When I got there, though, I couldn’t find him. He must have had friends. So I suppose we’ve seen the last of that statuette.”
“Perhaps we could help, sir,” Jupiter said quietly. “We have had some success in recovering lost and stolen articles.”
“And solving mysteries, too,” Pete declared.
Mr. Harris laughed. “You sound like detectives.”
“Yes, sir,” Jupiter said. “We are, in a small way. This is our card.”
Jupiter handed Mr. Harris one of their large business cards which read:
Mr. Harris laughed. “Well, now, perhaps you could get Miss Sandow’s statuette back. Detectives, by Jove, and you have solved mysteries?”
“We sure have!” Pete exclaimed. “Chief Reynolds of the Rocky Beach police even made us deputies.”
“Did he indeed?” Mr. Harris grinned, looking at the card in his hand.
From his chair across the room, Ted asked, “What are the question marks for, fellows? You don’t question your abilities, do you?”
“The question marks are our symbol,” Jupiter explained, looking towards Ted with a frown. “They stand for all the mysteries we attempt to solve. Sort of a trademark.”
“That’s great,” Ted said with enthusiasm. “Let the boys try, Aunt Sarah, and I’ll work with them!”
“But, Theodore,” Miss Sandow objected. “There may be a gang of thieves. Would it be safe for boys?”
“Miss Sandow is right,” Mr. Harris said. “Robbery is not a matter for boys.”
“We’re always careful, ma’am,” Jupiter said, “and we would go to Chief Reynolds if we found anything serious. If it was a boy who took the statue, we might be in a good position to help. We’ve found that boys are often less afraid of other boys. All we would do is try to locate the statuette.”
“There, Aunt Sarah,” Ted declared. “You can see that the boys are responsible, and Chief Reynolds trusts them.”
“Well,” Miss Sandow said doubtfully. “I suppose it is rather a minor matter to take to the police directly.”
Mr. Harris became serious. “The police do have too much to do to look for a trinket without any evidence as to where it is. Possibly three boys could try to find out what did happen to it and then inform the police. If they promised to be very careful.”
“Oh, they will!” Ted cried. “I say, why not offer a reward, Aunt Sarah? The boys will deserve it if they find the statuette.”
Miss Sandow smiled at Ted. “Well, as long as you all promise to do nothing at all dangerous. If you do find it, I will certainly be glad to give you a reward. Suppose we say fifty dollars.”
“Then it’s settled,” Ted said. “Smashing! Can you come for lunch tomorrow so we can plan our work?”
“I’m not sure the boys would enjoy our lunch,” Mr. Harris said hastily. “Miss Sandow and I are vegetarians, boys. We eat only vegetables. I happen to be president of the Vegetarian League. Miss Sandow has given me great assistance getting our League started in Rocky Beach. You must attend a lecture. I’m giving one this afternoon as a matter of fact.”
“We’d like to, sir,” Jupiter said, “but now we’d better go back and help Konrad. My uncle will be anxious to know what Miss Sandow has to sell. We won’t be able to start looking for the statuette until later.”
“I’ll help you,” Ted said. “And don’t forget the reward. Aunt Sarah won’t even ask where you found the statue.”
“No questions asked, eh, boys?” Mr. Harris laughed.
The boys excused themselves and went to rejoin Konrad.
Inside the barn, Jupiter looked around to see if they were alone, then drew Bob and Pete into the shadows.
“Did either of you notice it?” Jupiter demanded with a grim look on his face.
“Notice what, Jupe?” Pete asked.
“Ted asked about the question marks on our card.”
“People always ask, Jupe,” Bob said.
“But Ted hadn’t seen our card when he asked!”
Bob blinked. “You’re right! Harris had the card!”
“You mean he knew about us all the time?” Pete said.
Jupiter nodded. “He knew about our card, which means he was lying to us. He didn’t have to talk to us about selling the junk. If that was all he really came to the yard for, he could have talked just to Aunt Mathilda. Fellows, the junk was just an excuse to meet us!”
7
Ghost-to-Ghost Hook-up
“But how did he know about our card?” Pete wondered.
“Skinny must have told him,” Bob said.
“No,” Jupiter said emphatically. “He knew about us before he went to Skinny, I’m sure of that. Skinny wouldn’t have told him about our card, he’s too jealous of us. Anyway, if he’d learned about The Three Investigators from Skinny, he would have said so.”
“And he didn’t!” Bob was beginning to understand. “He pretended he didn’t know we were investigators, before we told him.”
“You mean,” Pete said, “that he’d found out who we were but didn’t want us to know he knew?”
“But why?” Bob asked. “What reason could he have for not wanting us to know he’d seen our card? He came to us.”
Jupiter pondered the question. “There could only be one reason, fellows. It must be that the way he found out reveals something that he doesn’t want us to know.” Suddenly the First Investigator frowned. “Fellows, do you both have all your cards?”