or a stick and worked it near enough to take out. But it was at the back of the cage.
Then Fatty had one of his brain-waves. He picked up a small pebble and shot it into the cage, so that it rolled near the little whistle. One of the cats saw the pebble rolling and jumped down to play with it. She put out a paw and patted the pebble. Her paw touched the whistle and moved it She began to play with the wooden whistle too.
The children watched breathlessly. The cat sent the pebble rolling away and went after it. Then she came back to the whistle and looked hard at it, as if she expected it to move.
Then out went her paw again and she gave the whistle a push. It rolled over and over and the cat was delighted. She picked the whistle up cleverly in her two front paws, juggled with it a little, then let it drop. She struck it with her paw, and it flew through the air, landing quite near to the wire netting.
'Oh, good, good, good!' said Fatty joyfully. He took a small roll of wire from his pocket. It was wonderful the things that Fatty kept in his pockets. He undid a length of the wire, twisted two pieces together, and made a small loop at one end. Then he pushed the wire through one of the holes in the netting.
Everyone watched eagerly. The wire reached the whistle. Fatty jiggled it about patiently, trying to fit the loop at the end over the whistle. The cat that had played with the whistle watched with great interest. Then suddenly it put out a playful paw and patted the wire, sending the loop neatly over the whistle!
'Oh, thanks, puss!' said Fatty gleefully, and drew the whistle carefully to the wire-netting. He jerked it up, and the whistle flew through one of the holes and landed at Bets' feet She picked it up.
'Got it!' said Fatty. 'Let's have a look at it. Yes, it's one of Luke's all right. What a good thing we got it out. Now that clue won't be found by old Clear-Orf! Luke won't get into further trouble because of that!'
'You really are clever, Fatty,' said Bets, in the greatest admiration.
'Good work, Fatty,' said Pip.
Fatty at once swelled up with pride and importance. 'Oh, that's nothing,' he began. 'I've often had better ideas than this. Why, once...'
'Shut up!' said Larry, Daisy, and Pip together. Fatty shut up. He stuffed the whistle into his pocket.
'Look about for any more clues,' said Pip. 'There might be some more in the cage.'
The five of them pressed their noses once more to the cage netting. Bets wrinkled up her nose.
'I don't like the smell in the cage,' she said.
'Well, animals never smell very nice when they are caged,' said Larry.
'No, it's another smell,' said Bets. 'Like petrol or something.'
The all sniffed. 'She means turpentine,' said Fatty. 'I can smell it too — quite faintly. Afraid that's not a due though, Bets. Still, it's good to notice even a smell. Perhaps Miss Harmer uses turps to clean out the cage. Now — any other clue, anybody?'
But there really did not seem to be anything at all to be found, although the children hunted around the cages and peered inside them time and again.
'Sickening,' said Fatty. 'Nothing to help us at all. Not a thing. Well, it's a jolly good thing we found that whistle before Tupping or Clear-Orf spotted it. I feel certain somebody put it there so that Luke might be suspected of stealing the cat. What a mean trick to play!'
'I wish we could put a whole lot of dues in the cage so that it would muddle up old Clear-Orf,' said Pip.
The others stared at him in delight, the same delicious thought striking them all at the same moment
'Golly, what a marvellous idea!' said Fatty, wishing he had thought of it himself.
'Yes; let's do it!' said Larry excitedly. 'Let's put all kinds of silly dues, that couldn't possibly point to Luke. It will give old Clear-Orf a most frightful headache sorting them all out!'
They all began to giggle. What should they push into the cage?
'I've got some peppermint drops,' said Pip, with a chuckle. 'I'll chuck one into the cage.'
'And I'll put a piece of my hair-ribbon in,' said Daisy. 'It tore in half today and I've got the bits in my pocket I'll put a half-bit in through the wire!'
'And I've got some blue buttons off my doll's coat,' said Bets. 'I'll put one of those in!'
'I believe I've got a new pair of brown shoe-laces somewhere in my pocket,' said Larry, digging about in his shorts pockets. 'Yes, here they are. I'll put one into the cage.'
'What will you put in, Fatty?' asked Bets.
Fatty produced a collection of cigar-ends out of his pocket. The others stared at them in amazement.
'What do you want to collect cigar-ends for?' asked Larry at last.
'I smoke them,' said Fatty. 'They're the ends of the cigars my father smokes. He leaves them on the ash-tray in his bedroom.'
'You don't smoke them!' said Pip disbelievingly. 'You're just saying that to swank as usual. You just take them to make yourself smell of grown-up cigar-smoke, that's all. I often wondered why you smelt like that.'
This was rather too near the truth for Fatty's liking. He pretended not to hear what Pip said. 'I shall throw a cigar-end under the cage — on the ground,' he said, 'and one inside the cage — though I hope none of the cats will chew it and get ill. Two cigar-ends will just about send old Clear-Orf off his head.'
Very solemnly the five children spread their 'dues.' Pip threw a large round peppermint drop into the cage, where the cats eyed it with displeasure. They evidently disapproved of the smell.
Daisy stuffed half a bit of rather grubby blue hair-ribbon into the netting. Bets put in a small blue button. Larry pushed in one of his new brown shoe-laces — and Fatty threw a cigar-end under the cage and one inside as well!
'There,' he said, 'plenty of clues for old Clear-Orf to find! Hope he comes soon.'
Mr. Goon on the Job.
'I say,' said Daisy suddenly, watching her hair-ribbon flap on the floor of the cage, in a little draught from under the door. 'I say, I hope no one will think I've stolen the cat! Mother would know that was a piece of my hair-ribbon if ever she saw it'
'Oh, crumbs! I never thought of that,' said Pip.
'It's all right,' said Fatty. 'I've got a big envelope here — see? Now then, let's each put into the envelope the same thing that we've already settled for dues. I'll put in two cigar-ends, to match the ones I've left. Daisy, put in your other half of ribbon.'
Daisy did so. Then Bets put in one of the blue doll's buttons, Larry put in the other shoe-lace, and Pip put in a peppermint drop.
Fatty folded up the envelope carefully and put it into his pocket. 'If any of us is accused of the theft, because of the clues we've put in the cage, we've only got to show them what's in this envelope for them to know we did it for a joke,' he said.
A bell rang out in Pip's house, and Bets gave a groan. 'That's my bed-time bell. Blow! I don't want to go.'
'You must,' said Pip. 'You got into a row yesterday for being late. Oh dear, I do wish we could stay here and see old Clear-Orf and Tupping finding the dues we've left!'
'Well, let's,' said Larry.
'Oh, me too!' wailed Bets, afraid of being left out again. Pip give her a push.
'Bets, you must go! There's your bell again.'
'Well, it's your bell too — it means you've got to come in and wash and change into your suit for supper-time,' said Bets. 'You know it does.'
Pip did know it. Larry gave a sigh. He knew that he and Daisy ought to go home too. They had farther to go than Pip and Bets.
'We'll have to go too,' said Larry. 'Fatty, I suppose you couldn't possibly stay and watch, could you? It really would be funny to see. Why don't you stay? Your mother and father don't bother about you much, do they? You seem to go home or go out just whenever you like.'
'All right, I'll stay here and watch,' said Fatty. 'I think I'll climb that tree there. It's easy to climb, and the leaves
