Mystery of the Strange Bundle (16 page)

Mrs. Trotteville was curious to know what the conversation had been about. She had heard the word Ventrioloquism, because Fatty had shouted it so loudly.

“What’s this about ventriloquism, Frederick?” she asked. “Did I hear you say you were practising it? I do wish you wouldn’t. I suppose that explains all those queer noises that keep coming from your room when you are up there alone.”

“Yes, Mother. But don’t you get all hot and bothered about it,” said Fatty. “I’ll be back at school in a very short time. Then the house will be nice and quiet. By the way - er - the Chief Inspector is coming over here this afternoon. Do you mind if I get the other four along? They’ll like to see him - especially Bets.”

“Yes - get them along if you like,” said his mother. “But, Frederick - I hope all this doesn’t mean you’ve been mixing yourselves up again in matters that don’t concern you. I really did hope you’d not lead the others into trouble these holidays.”

Fatty was indignant. “I never lead them into trouble! Mother, how can you say such a thing! Why, even the Inspector has often told me that…”

“All right, Frederick,” said his mother. “I am not going to argue with you. Telephone the others and see if they can come to tea. There is a nice new batch of cakes in today - and I brought in some macaroons from the dairy. You haven’t had any for a long time.”

“Not so very long!” thought Fatty, pleased at the idea of a few more that afternoon. He went to telephone the others, but, remembering the Chief’s injunction to “keep his mouth shut,” he gave them no hint as to the unexpected visit, though he would dearly have liked Bets to know. She was very fond of the “high-up policeman”, as she used to call him.

“It’s a pity we’ve got to tell the Chief that we were idiotic enough to leave the dolls’ clothes unguarded, so that they were stolen,” thought Fatty. “That won’t be a very good mark for me! I can’t think how I was such a fathead. Well, the deed is done.”

The Chief arrived first, in his big, black, shiny car, driven by a police-driver, and, surprisingly, with him came a distinguished-looking man in plain clothes.

Fatty was at the door when the car came up the drive and stopped outside. He welcomed the Chief with pleasure. The big, burly, good-looking man grinned at Fatty.

“Well, you Menace? I’ve a good mind to cast you off and have no more to do with you!” He turned to the tall, quiet man by his side.

“Sir, this is the boy I was telling you about. He plagues the local police, but at times he’s been very useful to me. He’s dependable and responsible, so you can tell him what you like. Let me introduce Frederick Trotteville.”

Fatty shook hands solemnly. He noticed that the Chief didn’t tell him the tall man’s name. It was obvious that he was a very Big Noise, Fatty thought. Probably in the Secret Service - or - Scotland Yard. Anyway, a bit hush-hush. Fatty looked at him in awe.

They all went into the sitting-room, where a bright fire was burning. Mrs. Trotteville had gone out to one of her bridge afternoons. Fatty was thankful. He didn’t particularly want his mother to be present if his escapades with Goon were to be gone into.

They sat down. “Now, first of all, Frederick, what do you know about Mr. Eurycles?” asked the Chief, coming straight to the point as usual.

“Not much,” confessed Fatty. “I’d better tell you everything from the beginning, sir, then you’ll see how we finally arrived at Mr. Eurycles. It’s a queer little story - we got mixed up in it somehow but it’s rather interesting.”

“Fire away,” said the Chief, “we’re listening. I may take a few notes as you relate your tale, but don’t let that worry you. Now then?”

Fatty was just beginning his tale when he heard the loud ringing of four bicycle bells, and Buster began to bark and paw at the door.

“Oh - it’s the others, sir,” said Fatty, apologetically. “Do you mind if they come in too? I mean - they were all in it.”

“Fetch them in,” said the Chief, and Fatty went to the window, threw it up, and yelled:

“I say, all of you! Come in here. Quick!”

The four parked their bicycles in a hurry, and rushed in at the garden door. What was up? They burst into the sitting-room, and stopped in amazement when they saw their old friend, Chief Inspector Jenks, tall and burly as ever, a wide smile on his good-humoured face.

Bets flung herself on him, and as usual he swung her high in the air and she shrieked. The others crowded round eagerly. What fun to see the Chief again - and how exciting! What did it mean?

The tall, quiet man also stood up, smiling. He seemed very much amused with all this. The Chief introduced the four new-comers to him, one by one. But again he did not say who the stranger was. The tall man was very courteous, and his shrewd, dark eyes rested in turn on each child’s face. Fatty guessed that he didn’t miss much!

“What have you come for? Not just to see us?” cried Bets.

“I came because I think you may have a tale to tell me that will help me in something else,” said the Chief. “Frederick was just about to tell it when you arrived. Sit down, and we’ll hear it.”

Every one sat down, Bets as near the big Chief as she could possible get. Fatty began again.

He described the breaking into Mr. Fellows’ house, and what the milkman had reported. He told how he and the others had gone to have a look at the house, which was so near Larry’s.

“And, I suppose, you managed to find an excuse for a little breaking-in yourself, Frederick?” said the Chief.

“Well - there was a kitten left behind,” said Fatty, grinning. “And while I was looking for it in the house, Mr. Goon appeared.”

“I see - and then the dog, and the pig, and the groaning man began to haunt the house too, I suppose,” said the Chief. “All right, we won’t go into details. I’ve had too many already from Goon. I know all this bit, actually. It was fully reported to me at once. Tell me the bits I’m not likely to know.”

So Fatty told him of the question he had put to himself - who could have seen Fellows rushing out at night? He went on to describe his talks with the night-watchmen - and regretfully he decided that he must also tell of his impersonation of the old man with the sack, and describe how he had led Goon to the jetty and tipped in the sack of stones.

“Most reprehensible,” murmured the Chief.

“Yes, sir,” agreed Fatty, hurrying on. He told how the five of them had gone down to see if Goon would drag out the sack next day and what he would do when he found he had been spoofed - he described the watching water-weed man, which caused both the Chief and his plain-clothes friend to sit up straight and look at one another.

“Give me a full description of this man, please,” said the Chief, and, helped by the others, Fatty gave a very full description indeed.

“Excellent,” said the Chief. “Most observant lot you are! I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me everything the fellow had in his pockets! Wait a minute now - you say Goon arrived just then?”

“Yes, sir,” said Fatty. The Chief took a sheaf of papers from his pockets and chose one, which he read quickly to himself.

“This is Goon’s report of that morning,” he said. “But it’s confused and lacks detail. I think we’d better get him along here too, now that he comes well into the tale. I may want to ask him a few questions.”

“Shall I telephone him, sir?” said Larry, at once. What a wonderful meeting! Goon would just about complete it. Poor Goon - he didn’t shine on these occasions.

The Chief nodded and began to make some notes, which he passed to the stranger. Larry telephoned, got Goon at once, and gave him the Chief’s message.

“What did he say?” inquired the Chief, when Larry returned.

“Well - er - not much, sir,” said Larry, embarrassed. “Actually he just said ‘Lovaduck.’ Nothing else.”

Every one laughed. Bets began to play with Buster, but it wasn’t more than two minutes before Goon came sailing up the drive on his bicycle. He was met at the door by Fatty, who ushered him solemnly into the rather crowded sitting-room.

Goon was very nervous. He hadn’t taken off his bicycle clips, nor had he stopped to brush his uniform which showed traces of his dinner. He slipped his helmet off and put it on the floor.

“Sit down, Goon,” said the Chief. “I’m glad you came so quickly. Er - we have been hearing quite an interesting little tale from Master Frederick, here, and we thought you should hear it too - though no doubt you already know a good deal.”

Goon looked hurriedly and beseechingly at Fatty. He sat down heavily, and Buster at once capered round his ankles. Fatty called him off sternly.

“Shut up, Buster. This is a serious meeting.” He turned to the Chief again. “Shall I go on, sir? Well, that morning, Mr. Goon did come down to the river, as we expected. And he took a boat and rowed to the jetty where I’d thrown in the sack of stones the night before.”

A snort came from Goon, but nobody took any notice of it. “Mr. Goon found a sack, sir - but it wasn’t the sack I’d thrown in - it was another one.”

Goon stared at Fatty, his mouth open. What! That boy hadn’t put in that sack? Then who had?

“Mr. Goon opened the sack, sir, and it was full of very peculiar things. Clothes, sir - dolls’ clothes - coat, trousers, belt, tie, socks - and a glove to match the one I told you I’d found in Mr. Fellows’ house. That made us guess the sack was the one that Fellows himself had hidden in the river - so we took all the clothes home.”

“But wait a minute - how did you get them? I thought Goon had them in the sack he pulled up,” said the Chief, puzzled.

“Well,” said Fatty, looking embarrassed, “he - er - well, he gave them to me, sir. Gave me every single one! You look surprised - well, so was I!”

A Strange Tale

“But I don’t understand,” said the Chief. “These clothes were a most important clue. Goon, what in the world made you hand them over to Master Frederick?”

Mr. Goon swallowed hard. His face was going a peculiar colour. That boy! That Toad of a Boy! Here he was in trouble again because of That Boy. He couldn’t think for the life of him what to answer.

But Bets answered for him. “He didn’t give them to him,” she said, indignantly. “He fell on Fatty and stuffed everything down his neck - all wet and slimy too!”

“Be quiet, Bets,” said Fatty, uncomfortably. “I’d asked for it.”

“What peculiar behaviour, Goon,” said the Chief, astounded. “No wonder your report was hard to follow. Is it a habit of yours to stuff things down people’s necks when you are annoyed?”

“No, sir,” muttered Goon, his eyes on the floor. “How was I to know those clothes were important, sir? I wouldn’t have stuffed them down his neck if I’d thought they’d got anything to do with this case. I was - well, I was downright annoyed that morning, sir.”

“I didn’t mind the fight,” said Fatty earnestly, sorry for poor Goon at that moment. “As a matter of fact, I rather enjoyed it. It was jolly clever of Goon to stuff every single thing down my neck - shoes and all!”

“Shoes? Did you say shoes?” said the Chief, at once. He made a quick note. “Well, we will now leave this subject of stuffing clothes down necks, as I see it is rather painful to Goon, and get on with the next part of the tale.”

Fatty told how they had dried out the clothes - how there had been a breaking into his own house that night, but nothing was taken - how he had interviewed Mr. Fellows, and got nothing but evasions - and finally how they had examined the clothes that very morning and how Bets had made her interesting discovery.

Goon was now listening intently. This was all new to him.

“We found nothing of interest at all, sir,” said Fatty “Until Bets here found a tiny pocket hidden in the sleeve-cuff - and in it was a handkerchief embroidered with daisies, and the name I told you - Eurycles. Bets, where’s the hanky?”

Bets produced it proudly. In an intent silence the Chief and his friend examined it. Mr. Goon gaped. What was all this? What did a doll’s handkerchief matter?

“What did you deduce from this handkerchief then?” asked the Chief.

“Well, first I recognized the name Eurycles,” said Fatty.

The stranger spoke directly to Fatty for the first time.

“Why did you recognize it? It is not a usual name,” he said.

“No, I know that, sir,” said Fatty. “In fact I’d never met any one of that name in my life, though for all I know there may be plenty of Greeks called Eurycles. I recognized it because - well, because I’m a bit of a ventriloquist, as I told the Chief here. You see, there was once a Greek called Eurycles who was a very famous ventriloquist indeed. I read about him in my book on ventriloquism.”

“Remarkable,” said the stranger, in his soft voice. “And so you thought that the clothes must belong to a doll owned by a modern ventriloquist called Mr. Eurycles?”

“Yes, that’s right,” said Fatty. “I was at a dead end as regards this mystery, and I thought perhaps if I could find out if there really was a ventriloquist using the old Greek name as a stage name, I could ask him a few questions. I thought he might be able to solve this peculiar mystery for us. That’s why I asked the Chief on the telephone if he knew of any one called Eurycles and how I could get in touch with him.”

“I see. Again I say - it’s most remarkable,” said the tall man. “Well - you’ll be interested to know that there is a modern ventriloquist who uses Eurycles as his stage name - and that those clothes you speak of, do belong to his doll. And you’ll also be interested to know that we have been searching everywhere for the clothes.”

“Why?” asked Fatty, astonished. “Gosh, what a lot of people are interested in those clothes!”

“I propose to tell you a little story myself now,” said the Chief’s friend. “A story which you must keep to yourselves. You are not to ask me any questions about it, you must accept my tale as it stands. It will tell you why my friend, the Chief Inspector here, was amazed when you spoke of Mr. Eurycles to him.”

This was all very astonishing. Every eye was on the quiet stranger as he began his tale.

“You know the Chief Inspector and you know that I am a friend of his, in the same kind of service - we work to preserve the law and order of our country, to keep out enemies, to secure for this country the things that are right and proper.”