Mr. Shelby smiled. “They were dangerous before there was any talk of a dragon in them. Landslides are common here along the coast. You could be buried alive.”
“I heard they were used by smugglers and rum-runners,” Jupiter said.
Shelby nodded. “That was a long time ago. As for the landslides, just take a walk along the cliff. You’ll see how the earth has slipped. Sometimes a house goes down with it.”
He looked intently at the boys, his eyes shining. “I know how it is being young. I suppose if I were your age again, and heard a wild story about a dragon, I might be tempted to go down and take a look myself. If you do, remember, those caves are very dangerous.”
“Thanks, Mr. Shelby,” Jupiter said, “Then in your opinion, there’s nothing to Mr. Allen’s dragon?”
Shelby smiled. “What do you think?”
Jupiter threw up his hands. “Well — ”
Mr. Shelby laughed again.
“Well,” Jupiter said, “thanks a lot for talking to us. Maybe we’ll find out exactly what he did see.”
“I hope so,” Mr. Shelby said. “I know Allen’s made a lot of horror films in his time. Maybe he has a friend or enemy who’s playing a practical joke on him.”
“That’s possible,” Jupiter admitted.
“Sometimes people will go to extremes in a case like that. Sorry I can’t help you boys. I’ll see you out now.”
He led them to the door and opened it. As they filed out, he stopped Jupiter, offering his hand. “Good luck, son.”
Jupiter took the hand extended to him. “Thank you, sir.”
The door closed softly behind him.
Then he stared down openmouthed, a shiver running through him.
Mr. Shelby’s right hand had come off, and Jupiter was holding it in his own!
“Ulp!” Jupiter stared, horrified, at Mr. Shelby’s hand. It was flesh-coloured and looked real. It even
It was too much for even level-headed Jupiter. He gasped and dropped it.
The other investigators heard his cry and turned.
“Yipes! What’s that?” cried Pete.
“Whiskers!” Bob said, looking closer.
“It’s a hand!” Jupiter found his voice. “It’s Mr. S-Shelby’s. It c-came off when we were shaking hands!”“What?” Pete asked.
“It came off,” Jupiter repeated dully. “I don’t know how.”
Loud laughter came from inside the house. It was followed by strangling, coughing sounds.
Jupiter flushed. “My fault, guys. I forgot what a practical joker Mr. Shelby is.”
He picked up the hand gingerly and held it out to Bob and Pete. Pete shook his head, and Bob took it. “It even feels real,” Bob said. “Maybe Mr. Shelby wears an artificial arm, and his hand just happened to come off accidentally when you shook hands.”
Jupiter shook his head. “You heard him laughing a moment ago. No, it’s just another one of his practical jokes. That’s all. He’s got a funny way of scaring people.”
“Yeah,” Pete said sarcastically. “Very funny. Let’s get out of here before he thinks of something else.”
Bob tossed the fake hand away. The boys turned and raced down the walk.
Avoiding Mr. Shelby’s portcullis, the boys zigzagged the path. They slowed down as they approached the closed metal gate.
It swung open noiselessly, as before, and The Three Investigators hurried through.
“He’s a good sport anyway,” Bob said, as they ran the street. “At least he didn’t have his gate bite us on the way out.”
“Keep going,” Pete muttered. “I’ll thank him when I’m far enough away.”
Finally they slowed and came to a breathless halt.
“Now what do we do?” Bob asked. “Wait for Hans to pick us up?”
“I move that we keep running all the way back to Rocky Beach,” Pete said. “What’s twenty miles when you consider how much safer it is there?”
Jupiter plucked at his lower lip. He glanced at his wrist watch. “There’s still a little time. How do you fellows feel about taking a quick look at that cave down below, before we go home?”
Pete looked towards the cliff ridge. “You mean the one the dragon’s supposed to have gone into? I’ll give you my vote in two words, Jupe. Forget it.”
Jupiter nodded. “How do you feel, Bob?”
“Like Pete,” Bob answered. “Besides, you heard Mr. Shelby telling us how dangerous it is. I don’t know about the dragon, but I don’t think I’d be any happier under a landslide.”
Jupiter was walking to the cliff edge. He put his hand on the old weatherbeaten stair handrail that ran steeply down to the beach.
“I suggest we take a look,” he said. “Then, when we get home, we’ll have a better idea of what we’re up against.”
With that, he took a step down and quickly disappeared from view.
Pete looked at Bob. “How come he always outvotes us, one to two?”
Bob shrugged. “He’s just more stubborn than we are. You and I are probably nicer people.”
“Yeah,” Pete muttered. “A lot of good it does us. Come on. We’d better go down after him before Mr. Shelby sends a flying object after us. Or that Mr. Carter across the street decides he needs some target practice.”
With that, Pete reached for the handrail and started down. Bob followed. The steps were narrow and old, set close together, and the descent to the beach was steep. As they ran down, Pete and Bob grabbed the rails at first. Then, as they gained momentum and confidence, they merely reached out and slapped at them.
Jupiter couldn’t help but hear the clatter behind him. He glanced back once, saw what was happening, and grinned. It was a race to the bottom now.
Not as agile as the others, Jupe could still make an effort when he wanted to. He increased his pace as he bounced from step to step.
He was perhaps fifteen feet from the bottom when it happened.
Suddenly, without warning, a step collapsed under his weight. His momentum carried him downwards. The next step cracked and broke away, too. He attempted to brake by grabbing the handrail.
It tore loose and came off in his hand. Then he was yelling and falling in space.
Immediately behind, Bob and Pete heard his warning cry too late. The entire staircase below was collapsing like a deck of cards on end. The railing above the section that Jupiter had clung to was their only chance. They threw themselves at it frantically.
It tore loose, too.
Helplessly, they plunged headlong downwards. Loose boards hurled after them.
Jupiter’s mind worked quickly as he fell. In the split second before he landed, he had two nagging thoughts. Was this accident a real one?
Or was it to keep The Three Investigators from investigating the mystery of the dragon on the beach? That was all he had time for.
He landed with stunning force. Bodies and boards crashed about his head.
Everything went black!
