“He’s not in the office, fellows,” the carnival boy said. “I’ll try the box office, and see if they can find Dad.”
Andy was still on the telephone when they heard police cars screech to a stop outside. Konrad looked relieved. Chief Reynolds himself strode into the house with some of his men. The boys quickly told the Chief their whole story.
“Good work, boys,” Chief Reynolds said. “With your description and the licence number we should be able to get him. Do you know what he is after in those crooked cats?”
“No, sir,” Bob admitted. “But it must be awful valuable, the trouble he’s taking,”
Pete added. “Jupe thinks maybe it’s something smuggled!”
Chief Reynolds nodded. “That is a very good thought. I’ll instruct my men to be alert for a valuable item inside the cat, and send out a call for any information the border patrol might have on a wanted smuggler.”
The Chief hurried out to the rest of his men. Andy Carson was still trying to get through to his father at the carnival. Jupiter, who was disappointed at having to call in Chief Reynolds before the boys even knew why the cats were valuable, watched Andy nervously.
“He would have had time to get back to the carnival by now,” the First Investigator said in dejection. “Unless, of course, he doesn’t go back at all this time,” he added hopefully. “Keep trying, Andy.”
Andy nodded, and dialled once more, just as Chief Reynolds came back into the house. The Chief was walking fast, his face serious as he approached the boys.
“Boys, you may have stumbled on to something far more important than you know! I’ve just had a report that a man who answers your cat-thief’s description, tattoo and all, is suspected of a daring one-man bank robbery only last week! He escaped with over $100,000!”
Jupiter cried quickly, “In San Mateo, sir?”
“What?” Chief Reynolds said, looking at Jupiter. “Now, how did you know that, Jupiter?”
“The fire at the carnival, sir! It was in San Mateo. I’m convinced that the cat-thief is a member of the carnival. He must have set off the fire by accident after the robbery, or maybe on purpose to help him to escape!”
“You can’t be sure of that, Jupiter,” the Chief said.
“The coincidence would be too much, Chief,” Jupiter insisted. “If you go to the carnival, you’ll — ”
Andy cried out, “I’ve got my Dad!”
They all stopped to listen as the carnival boy spoke eagerly into the telephone, and they waited impatiently as Andy’s Dad checked who was at the carnival. Chief Reynolds left the room again when one of his men called him. Moments later, Andy was nodding into the telephone.
“Yes, Dad. Jiminy, I’m sorry! But is anyone missing? No, all right Yes, Dad. Right away!”
Andy hung up. “Everyone’s there, Jupiter. At least they are now — all except me! The show’s already open. I’ve got to get there right away. I won’t even have time for dinner.”
Bob and Pete both jumped as if shot, their faces pictures of dismay. “Oh my gosh,” Pete moaned, “we’ve missed our dinners!”
“We're in real trouble, Jupe,” Bob echoed. Jupiter, too, paled a little. Konrad chuckled at the thought of what Aunt Matilda would say to Jupe. The boys knew that nothing annoyed their parents and guardians more than missing dinner, no matter what tight spots their investigating work got them into. But Jupiter hated to leave before Chief Reynolds could tell them something more. So the boys stood there nervously until the Chief returned. He nodded grimly to them.
“We don’t have to go to the carnival, boys,” the Chief announced. “We just found the car only four blocks from here in the highway. The crooked cat was in the car. It had been cut open, there was nothing in it. Tyre marks on the grass show he was either picked up by another car, or had a second car ready and waiting. Anyway, we’ll have to alert the whole state now. I’m afraid he got what he wanted and left Rocky Beach in a hurry, boys. I guess you’d better go home. We’ll get him, but it will take time now.”
The boys nodded dejectedly. They hurried down to the truck with Konrad, more worried now about being late than about losing the cat-thief.
Or, rather, Bob, Pete and Andy were worried. Jupiter was thinking about something else, something interesting. His eyes were speculative, but no one noticed.
For missing their dinners, both Bob and Pete spent all next day performing chores around their houses. They had to admit that they’d asked for it, and worked without too much grumbling, but their minds were on the failure of the case. They couldn’t help wondering if the tattooed man had been caught. Each tried to call Jupiter more than once, but the First Investigator wasn’t at Headquarters or at his house.
At dinner, Bob gulped his food. His father smiled at him.
“Chief Reynolds reports that you and your friends almost caught a bank robber last night,” Mr. Andrews said.
“We didn’t know he was a bank robber, Dad,” Bob explained. “We were just helping a carnival boy in trouble.”
“It’s good to help people, Bob, and I know that you boys are careful. Chief Reynolds says you did nothing foolish or dangerous. Still, you worry me sometimes. Be sure you keep alert and use your head, son.”
“Jupiter says being prepared is half the fight.”
“As usual, Jupiter is right,” Mr. Andrews said dryly.
“Too bad your man escaped. Chief Reynolds says he’s been reported all over the state, but they haven’t caught him.”
This news did nothing to cheer Bob. As he rode to the salvage yard after dinner, he realized that this could turn out to be the first unsolved case The Three Investigators had ever had. He was still brooding over it when he clambered up into Headquarters. Jupiter was there, bent intently over a pile of newspapers and studying some scrawled notes.
“What are you doing, First?” Bob asked.
The First Investigator shook his head curtly to indicate that he didn’t want to talk. Miffed, Bob began to study some specimens of sea life the boys had gathered while skin diving. Then he wandered to the See-All and began to survey the salvage yard in the fading light of the sunny day.
“Looks like Uncle Titus has bought another load no one knows what to do with,” he announced.
Jupiter grunted. He had stopped his reading and was sitting deep in thought, his eyes closed. Bob looked back through the See-All.
“Here comes Pete!”
This time Jupiter didn’t even grunt. Soon Pete came up through the trapdoor and stared at the silent Jupiter.
“What’s Jupe doing?” he wanted to know.
“Don’t ask me,” Bob replied. “The Great Brain is at work,”
“Why all the newspapers? Is he going to find the tattooed man by putting another ad in the paper?”
Jupiter looked up, his eyes bright. “That won’t be needed, Second. I think I know where the tattooed man is.”
“You do, Jupe?” Bob cried. “Where?”
“Where he’s been all the time — here in Rocky Beach, at the carnival.”
Pete groaned. “Gosh, Jupe, like Chief Reynolds said, we don’t know that. Why, he’s been seen in six different places!”
“Seven, to be precise,” Jupiter agreed.
“That proves he’s sure not here,” Bob said.
“On the contrary, Records,” Jupiter pronounced. “I’ve been studying the reports on him in the papers. The seven people saw him in seven different places as much as two hundred miles apart! I would venture to say that no
