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!”
“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?”
Bob and Pete searched their pockets where they always carried a few of the cards. Pete exclaimed:
“One of mine is missing! I’m sure I had five.”
“I bet you dropped one near the gate last night,” Bob said. “You probably did it when you pulled out your handkerchief to wrap up the amulet.”
“And Ted found it,” Jupiter added. “That means he must have been there! But he didn’t want us to know!”
“Gosh,” Pete said, “do you think he stole the amulet?”
“Perhaps, Pete,” Jupiter said ominously.
“But, Jupe,” Bob objected, “why would he want to hire us if he’s the one who stole it? I mean, Ted was the one who persuaded Miss Sandow to hire us. He pushed hard for us.”
“Maybe too hard,” Jupiter observed. “He almost forced his aunt to hire us. Look, fellows, he must suspect that we have the amulet. He wants it back. That reward was his idea, and he made a point of saying no questions will be asked about where we found it if we turn it over. He’s inviting us to return it for the reward.”
“How would that help him?” Bob pointed out. “We’d give it to Miss Sandow. Why didn’t he come to us in private? He could have.”
Jupiter looked annoyed. “I admit I’m baffled about that. But two things are sure now: first, Ted wants the amulet; and second, his getting it back is much more important than any value it has.”
Pete groaned. “And we’ve lost it. There’s no way we can get it back.”
“But maybe there is,” Jupiter said. “I’ve been thinking about that ever since the man stole it. With his unusual appearance and clothes he’ll have a hard time hiding in Rocky Beach. He should be easy to spot. We’ll just use a Ghost-to-Ghost Hook-up!”
“Sure!” Pete looked enthusiastic again.
“He should be easy for kids to find,” Bob said.
“Let’s help Konrad and get home fast,” Jupiter suggested.
An hour later they had listed everything they thought Uncle Titus might want, and were on their way home. They reported to Aunt Mathilda, who was so fascinated by the list of Miss Sandow’s junk that she never noticed the boys slip away to their headquarters. Once inside the hidden trailer, they went to work setting up the Ghost-to- Ghost Hook-up.
This was the name Jupiter had given to a method he had devised for locating someone by using all the kids in Rocky Beach, or the whole area if necessary. It was a brilliant scheme because it was so simple. The boys simply phoned all their friends and asked for the information they wanted. If their friends couldn’t answer, the friends then phoned their friends who were not known to the investigators. In this way, they could contact every kid in the area in almost no time.
The Three Investigators prepared their description of the man in white and his battered car, mentioning the fact that another man had been with him, and then phoned their friends. They left the telephone number of their headquarters and asked anyone who saw the men or the car to contact them at once. Within an hour nearly every boy and girl in Rocky Beach would be looking for the dark man.
“Now,” Jupiter grinned, “we wait.”
But by six o’clock not one call had come in, and the boys looked at each other in glum surprise. Not one kid in Rocky Beach even thought he had seen the strangers.
“They must be hiding,” Bob said.
“If they’re in Rocky Beach at all,” Pete said.
“I’m sure they are,” Jupiter insisted. “The Ghost-to-Ghost Hook-up just takes time. We’ll hear, but meanwhile… ”
“Meanwhile,” Pete said, looking at the clock, “we had better get home for dinner.”
Jupiter sighed unhappily. The limitations of being a boy sometimes made the stocky leader of the trio squirm.
