do them any good or they’d have been here before this. But we can’t stand here talking. Leo, you and Baby-Face see what’s under the wallpaper in the rest of the rooms.”
The four captives on the floor watched silently as the two men swiftly slashed open the wallpaper on the remaining walls. Concerned as he was at their predicament, Jupiter could not help wondering who had seized Gulliver’s trunk from these men and sent it back to him. But no answer to the riddle came to him. Meanwhile, Three-Finger’s henchmen failed to find anything underneath the living room wallpaper.
“Not in this room, then,” Three-Finger said. “Smooth, if you know which room it’s in, better tell us. If you do, maybe we’ll untie you when we’re finished.”
“If I knew I’d have gone straight for it,” Smooth Simpson said. “But untie me and I’ll help you find it.”
“Not a chance,” Three-Finger snapped. “You tried to grab the money from us and now you can pay for it. Come on, fellows, we’ll try the bedrooms.”
The three thugs moved back to the first bedroom and left the four captives in darkness. The Three Investigators could hear them ripping at the wallpaper and cursing at their lack of success.
“Boys, I’m sorry this had to happen,” Smooth Simpson said in a low tone. “I admit I tried to put a fast one over on you, but I didn’t plan any violence. That’s not how I work. I use brains, not force.”
“It’s my fault,” Jupiter said, sounding unhappy. “I should have suspected you.”
“Don’t take it so hard,” the man advised him. “I’ve fooled the best there are.”
After that there was silence, except for the sounds from the rear of the house where Three-Finger and his companions were at work. Then all four captives stiffened.
The front door opened, creaking slightly!
Alertly, they all listened. Very faintly they could see the dark form of a rather small man ease into the room.
“Who’s there?” Smooth demanded, keeping his voice to a whisper.
“Quiet!” came back an answering whisper. “We come to help. Don’t let the others suspect anything.”
Another man slipped in through the door, and a third. Still others followed. They could not be sure how many because of the darkness. The intruders were very skilful and made almost no noise.
“Men!” said the voice of the first. “Stay close to the walls, near the door. When they come out, get the bags over their heads and tie them up. No knives! Don’t hurt them if you can help it.”
A muffled grunt of understanding answered him.
Jupiter, Bob, and Pete waited with rising hope as well as bewilderment. Who could the men in the room be? They weren’t the police, or they would have stormed in with lights and guns. Were they really friends? Or were they some other gang also after the hidden money?
Now the sound of angry voices from the rear indicated that Three-Finger and the others had failed to find the money. Their footsteps came down the hall to the dark living room. Three-Finger entered first, shining a light on the floor.
“All right, you fat kid!” he snarled at Jupiter. “We’re through fooling. You tell us where that money is or else!”
Suddenly Three-Finger was overwhelmed by several dark forms. Others grabbed the man behind and pulled him into the room. The third man tried to flee, but footsteps pounded after him and his muffled shouts indicated that he had been caught.
Meanwhile in the living room a terrific struggle followed. Three-Finger dropped his flashlight to the floor, where it rolled around, kicked by many feet, giving brief glimpses of the combat.
The Three Investigators could see that there was a bag over Three- Finger’s head. Exerting his strength to the utmost, he threw off a couple of his attackers, but others leaped on him. He fell to the floor with a crash, and his companion fell on top of him. They kicked and thrashed about wildly.
“Quickly! Tie their hands and feet. Then gag them!” ordered a voice.
For a moment longer the fight continued furiously. Then Three-Finger and the others were overpowered and bound. Three-Finger began uttering violent threats, but these were stilled as a gag was forced into his mouth. In a moment he and the others were stretched out on the floor, helpless. The only sound was the heavy breathing of the men who had overpowered the criminals.
“Very good,” said a friendly voice. “Wait outside. I will untie the boys.”
The other men slipped quietly out the door, leaving only one inside. This one turned on his flashlight and shone it on the boys for a moment.
“Good.” He chuckled. “No one fell on you and smashed you flat. Now I set you free.”
He placed the light on the floor so it would illuminate the boys without shining in their eyes. Then he approached with a long knife. As he got closer, Bob and Pete saw a swarthy man with a fierce moustache, whom they had never seen before. But Jupiter recognized him.
“Lonzo!” he exclaimed. “The Gypsy from Zelda’s house!”
Lonzo chuckled again as he cut the ropes that bound them.
“Yes,” he said. “We meet once more.”
“But — but how did you get here?” Jupiter asked in bewilderment as he stood up, rubbing his wrists.
“No time for talk now,” the Gypsy said. “Where is the other one?”
He shone the light where Smooth Simpson had been. Smooth was missing. Two ropes lay on the floor.
“He got away!” Bob exclaimed. “He must have been quietly getting his hands free all along, and in the fight slipped out!”
“He’ll be far away by now,” Lonzo said briefly. “No matter. We have three for the police. Now come outside. Zelda wishes to speak to you.”
Zelda! The Gypsy fortune-teller! Jupiter followed Lonzo out the door, with Bob and Pete at his heels. Three old cars were parked at the kerb. The two in the rear seemed to be crowded with men — Gypsies. In the front car a woman waited.
It was Zelda. She was not wearing Gypsy clothes, perhaps to avoid attracting attention.
“They are all right, Zelda,” Lonzo reported. “Three are tied up inside. One got away.”
“No matter,” Zelda said quietly. “Get in the car, boys, we must talk.”
The three squeezed in with her. Lonzo remained on watch.
“So our paths cross again, Jupiter Jones,” Zelda said. “It was written in the stars and in the crystal. I am glad we got here in time.”
“Were you following us?” Jupiter asked as his thoughts began to clear.
“Yes,” Zelda said. “Lonzo and some of the others were. Since first you visited me. The crystal said danger, and we wanted to prevent harm from coming to you. Lonzo followed those who followed you, and when they came here tonight, he sent for the rest of us to come to your aid. But we must be brief. You have found the money?”
“No,” Jupiter sighed. “Apparently it isn’t here. Yet I was positive, the money was hidden in Spike’s sister’s house. The letter practically said so. That’s the place it would logically be.”
“Gulliver was sure the letter from Spike gave a clue to the hiding place, but he could not solve it,” Zelda said.
“Then you knew Gulliver?” Jupiter demanded.
“We are related,” Zelda told him. “In an unusual way. I am anxious to clear his name and hoped that you, being very clever, could solve the mystery. Where did you look?”
“Under the wallpaper,” Jupiter told her. “It’s a place no one would think of. But it wasn’t there.”
“Why did you think it was?” Zelda asked.
“Well, Spike knew he couldn’t actually say much in a letter,” Jupiter explained. “He knew it would be censored. So he did something quite tricky, yet the only thing he could do.”
“Well, boy, what was it?” Zelda sounded impatient. “Come, speak up.”
It was Bob who answered.
