Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Treasure Hunt (6 page)

Bugs said, “We Tigers share everything equally. We each had a couple of pieces, so you can have the last one.”

He was telling the truth—almost—and that was his mistake.

If Bugs and his two Tigers had each eaten two pieces, there would not have been an odd number, such as one, left in the box.

Pizzas are sliced into an even number of
pieces. The Tigers ate six. Thus there would have been an even number of pieces left in the box if Bugs had come with a whole pie.

So Bugs had brought to the clubhouse an odd number of pieces. One piece was missing—the piece he stole from Farnsworth before he took the whole pizza.

Trapped by Encyclopedia’s sharp brain, Bugs took up a collection and bought Farnsworth another pizza.

Solution to
The Case of Bugs’s Zebra

Bugs had one of his Tigers call Sally, say he was Phil Birch, and hire her to pick up the shopping bag at the zoo.

Bugs had to have a reason for being at the zoo when the detectives arrived. He had to be able to say he saw them feeding the antelopes sweets.

So he said he was sketching a zebra.

Actually, he had drawn the zebra at home
from memory. That was his mistake!

Had he drawn the zebra from sight, he would not have had one of the body stripes “running from the front to the hind legs.”

Body stripes on a zebra do not run side to side, but up and down.

Bugs confessed, snarled, and slunk out of the zoo.

Solution to
The Case of the Treasure Hunt

Having spied on Mr. McPherson, Regina knew the last clue was: “Look beneath the best-known dairy in town.” She also knew the “You Won” card was under the windshield wiper of the pickup truck there.

So Encyclopedia told Mr. McPherson “to switch two letters,” the
a
and the
i
in
dairy
. Now the last clue read: “Look beneath the best-known diary in town.”

During the treasure hunt Regina merely glanced at it. She missed the change in spelling and gave herself away. She went to the original site, under the dairy office building.

Thanks to Encyclopedia, the “You Won” card was moved to the main library, where the treasure hunt had started.

The card was taped under the glass display case that housed Samuel Dowdy’s diary.

Solution to
The Case of the Stolen Jewels

Dustin overheard the tall man tell the short man not to write down the exact address of the house on Highland Avenue but to keep it in his head.

To help the short man’s memory, the tall man said, “Just remember—it’s the last upside-down year. The next one won’t come for more than four thousand years.”

So Encyclopedia knew the number of the
house on Highland Avenue was 1961.

That was “the last upside-down year,” and “the next one” (which “won’t come for more than four thousand years”) will be 6009.

Upside down, the years 1961 and 6009 read the same as right-side up!

Solution to
The Case of the Painting Contest

John Helmsly claimed that he was a sea captain. He believed that a picture of a boat painted by a sea captain would favorably influence the judges.

However, he used words no sea captain would use.

He said, “The boat is moving at about only four knots an hour.” A “knot” means a nautical mile per hour. So what he actually said
was, “The boat is moving at about only four knots an hour an hour.” Nonsense!

He also said “front” instead of “bow,” “back” instead of “stern,” and “map” instead of “chart.”

When Encyclopedia pointed out his mistakes to the judges, John Helmsly confessed. He was really a professional artist.

He withdrew from the contest, and first prize was awarded to Pablo.

Solution to
The Case of Orson’s Tree

Ken was innocent, But Chuck and Tom stole the tree. Chuck’s mistake gave them away.

Chuck said he heard “a trunk lid slam.” But he also said he “didn’t see the car.”

Unless he had seen Orson remove the tree from the car’s trunk, he could not have known it was a trunk lid that slammed. He would have assumed it was a car door that slammed!

When Encyclopedia pointed out his error, Chuck confessed. From his house across the street, he had watched for the tree to be delivered.

When he saw Orson carrying the tree to the door, he alerted Tom. Then he phoned Orson’s house. He kept Orson talking while Tom stole the tree.

Chuck and Tom returned the tree.

Solution to
The Case of Lathrop’s Hobby

The first clue was the hard sheet of paper, which had been “folded in half eight times” in order to fit it into the tiny pillbox.

The second clue was the vise in the garage.

Paul couldn’t fold the paper small enough by hand, so he used the vise. Then he tried to make Encyclopedia and Lathrop believe he had seen Tommy folding something in the bathroom.

He was so eager to blame Tommy that he didn’t think. Using only his hands, Tommy couldn’t have folded the paper eight times, either.

Encyclopedia knew this. No one can fold anything more than seven times by hand.

Solution to
The Case of the Leaking Tent

Jealous of Benny’s fishing prowess, and kept awake by his snoring, Gower and John sought revenge. They put holes in his tent with a needle. At first they failed. The tent was “thick as leather.”

So Gower (it turned out) used a bandage to tape a penny to his forefinger. He used the penny as a thimble to push the needle through the canvas.

After making many holes, he dropped the needle. He took the bandage off in order to pick it up. The bandage and the penny were left in the mud, meaningless to anyone who might find them. Or so Gower and John thought.

They had not counted on Encyclopedia’s sharp brain.

The detective scared them. He made them believe that the penny held a fingerprint.

Gower confessed, and his father bought Benny a new tent.

Solution to
The Case of the Worm Pills

Encyclopedia realized the pill wasn’t responsible for bringing the worms up from the dirt. The water alone was.

Worms dwell in underground tunnels that flood when it rains. They work their way to the surface in order to breathe.