The Secret of the Crooked Cat - Arden William (читать онлайн полную книгу .txt) 📗

Jupiter stammered, “You… you looked, sir?”

“I did, Jupiter” Mr. Carson said in a kindly voice. None of them remotely resembles Gabbo. Most of them are much too old, anyway. No, if the robber was part of the carnival, it could explain the fire and Rajah’s escape, but it doesn’t explain the loss of our pony ride earlier, and what possible reason would the robber have for wrecking the carousel now?”

Jupiter was glum. “The carousel breaking is a disturbing development, sir,” he admitted lamely.

“I’m sorry, but it looks more as if someone is trying to ruin my carnival — probably Andy’s grandmother,” Mr. Carson said unhappily. “I agree that the man after those crooked cats must be the robber, but he must be an outsider and we won’t see him again, I’m sure. From what you tell me, he has what he wanted. He would have no reason to wreck the carousel.”

“Gosh,” Pete said. “I guess not,Mr. Carson.”

“However, I’m asking you boys to keep an eye open and see if you can find who’s causing these accidents. I have to get back to work, but you boys are free to go anywhere in the carnival. Just be careful.”

“We will, Dad,” Andy promised. Mr. Carson nodded thoughtfully, smiled at the boys, and went back to supervise the work on the carousel. The boys all looked at each other. Jupiter bit his lower lip.

“I was absolutely sure I was right,” the First Investigator insisted.

“But Mr. Carson is right, First,” Bob said. “The robber wouldn’t have any reason to wreck the carousel.”

“He must be miles away by now,” Andy added.

“Perhaps,” Jupiter said. “But say he isn’t, fellows. Say he’s still here. There are two possible motives for him to wreck the carousel. He could be trying to close the show so that he wouldn’t be noticed when he left the carnival.”

“He wouldn’t try that so soon, would he, Jupe?” Andy asked. “I mean, he’d wait for things to calm down.”

“I suppose he would,” Jupiter agreed. “But, fellows, what if he hasn’t yet found what he’s after in those crooked cats? Are you certain you had only five cats, Andy?”

“I’m sure, Jupiter. I had five when we set up here.”

“I wonder… ” Jupiter mused. “Could whatever it is he wants have fallen out of the crooked cat? Maybe it wasn’t in any of the cats. If so, it might be in your equipment trailer. Is your trailer at the shooting gallery now, Andy?”

“Of course, Jupe. You know I keep it there so I can keep an eye on it.”

“But you’re not watching it now, are you?” Jupiter exclaimed. “You’re here because the carousel broke down!”

“You mean he’s distracting us all again!” Pete cried.

“Why not? It worked twice before,” Jupiter said. “The carousel damage is minor. If someone was trying to shut down the carnival, wouldn’t they have tried to damage it more? Hurry, fellows, let’s go to Andy’s trailer!”

They walked quickly, but quietly, from the carousel to the shooting gallery. The crowd of customers had grown now, and the boys circled cautiously through them to the rear of the shooting gallery. The instant they rounded the back of the booth into the dark rear area, they saw dolls, toys, and other small prizes strewn over the ground.

“It’s been broken open!” Andy whispered.

“Look!” Bob pointed.

A shadow seemed to flit from behind the trailer. The shadow of a man who ran in the night — across the open ground behind the carnival booths and tents, through a narrow hole in the temporary fence, and on towards the abandoned amusement park.

“After him!” said Jupiter.

16

A Chase in the Night

“There,” Pete said quietly, “he’s going through the fence!’

“Don’t let him see us,” Jupiter said.

They slipped through the fence one by one and stood in the dark, silent grounds of the old amusement park. The rickety roller coaster towered above them in the light of the rising moon. A strong mountain wind blowing out to sea made the old timbers creak and whine eerily.

“I don’t see him,” Bob said softly.

“Wait,” Jupiter whispered “Listen.”

Crouched in the shadow of the high fence, they all listened in the night The gay music from the repaired carousel sounded miles away outside the fence. Nothing moved in the darkness of the abandoned amusement park. To the left they heard the steady lap — lap — lap of water in the tunnel of love. There were small, scurrying sounds that could only be rats. They heard no other sounds in the ominous silence.

“He can’t have gone far,” Jupiter said in a low voice. “We’ll split up, fellows. Pete and I will go to the right round the roller coaster. Bob and Andy will go left.”

“You think it’s the robber, Jupe?” Andy asked.

“I do,” Jupiter said. “I think he did fail to find what he wanted in the cats, so he searched the trailer. If he found it in the trailer, he’s going to be really dangerous now. If you see him, just follow him. Don’t try to catch him.”

They all nodded, and Bob and Andy vanished to the left towards the tunnel of love and the ocean side of the roller coaster, Jupiter and Pete moved quietly between the sagging roller coaster and the laughing mouth of the fun house.

The night made the abandoned rides and shows look like the landscape of the moon. Pete and Jupiter had passed the fun house, and were continuing on round the ghostly roller coaster, when Pete suddenly crouched down.

“Jupe! I hear something!” Pete whispered.

In the darkness under the beams of the roller coaster, and somewhere behind them now, they heard a small sound. It came again — a soft scraping like heavy shoes on rough wood. Then, what could only be quick footsteps running back away from them. The heavy steps of a man.

“I see him!” Pete hissed to Jupiter. “He’s going towards the fun house.”

“Can you see who he is?”

“No,” Pete said. “He’s gone into the fun house!”

“Hurry, Pete. There might be another way out!” They hurried silenty across the moonlit open space to the gaping mouth of the fun house.

Inside, they listened. They were in a dark passage that faded into blackness ahead. Shafts of silver moonlight through holes in the rotted roof were the only illumination.

“He had to go straight ahead, Jupe,” Pete whispered. As if to confirm Pete’s statement, they heard a sharp, creaking noise in front of them, followed instantly by a thud and a sharp cry. Something heavy seemed to slide and bang against wood. The creaking sound came again, with another bang — and silence.

They looked at each other uneasily, and began to move cautiously forward along the dark, moonlit passage. Vaguely, they made out a closed door straight ahead. “Be careful when you open — ” Jupiter began.

The First Investigator got no farther in his warning about the door. With a sudden creaking noise the floor of the passage dropped away at a steep angle. They slipped flat on their backs, and slid wildly down the tilted floor as if on a playground slide.

There was nothing to hold on to. Flailing their arms, they slid down pell-mell until they hit with a thud against the wall ahead.

“Oooof!” The breath was knocked out of both of them.

Untangling their arms and legs, they sat up and watched in dismay as the floor that had tilted down so suddenly creaked and groaned and swung up again, becoming the ceiling of the dark, narrow hole in which they sat!

“The, whole floor tilted down!” Pete exclaimed. “It must be balanced so that when someone walks on it past the centre it drops like a see-saw.”

“It’s a fun house trick that still works,” Jupiter realized. “The robber must have fallen down it ahead of us, but where did he go?”

“There’s only one way,” Pete said.

Directly in front of them was a narrow, round opening like a pipe. There was no other way out of the hole.

“Be careful,” Jupiter whispered, “there might be a trick.”