Mystery of the Invisible Thief (2 page)

“Yes, I’d like to,” said Hilary, trying to stop her pony from backing on to an old gentleman nearby. “Thank you.”

The pony narrowly missed walking on Buster. He yelped, and the restless little animal reared. Hilary slapped him and he tossed his head and knocked off the Inspector’s trilby hat.

“Oh - sorry,” said Hilary, with a gasp. “Bonny’s a bit fresh, I’m afraid.”

“I quite agree,” said the Inspector picking up his hat before Bonny could tread on it. “All right, Hilary - I’ll come and watch you ride now - and we’ll all have tea together when you’ve finished.”

Hilary cantered off, bumping up and down, her hair flying out under her jockey cap. Buster was most relieved to see her go. He ventured out from behind Fatty, saw a friend he knew and trotted over to pass the time of day; but what with horses of all sizes and colours rushing about he didn’t feel at all safe.

It was really a very pleasant afternoon. The policeman who had replaced Goon while he was on holiday stood stolidly in a shady corner, and didn’t even recognize the Inspector when he passed. It is true that Inspector Jenks was in plain clothes, but Bets felt that she would recognize him a mile off even if he was wearing a bathing costume.

“Afternoon, Tonks,” said the Inspector, as they passed the stolid policeman. He leapt to attention at once, and after that could be seen walking about very busily indeed. The Inspector there! Was there anything up? Were there pick-pockets about - or some kind of hanky-panky anywhere? Tonks was on the lookout at once, and forgot all about standing comfortably in the shade.

Hillary didn’t win a prize. Bonny really didn’t behave at all well. He took fright at something and backed heavily into the judges, which made them look at him with much dislike and disfavour. Hilary was very disappointed.

She met them in a shady corner for tea, bringing Bonny with her. Buster growled. What - that awful horse again! Bonny nosed towards him and Buster hastily got under a tent nearby, squeezing beneath the canvas.

Hilary was very shy. She would hardly say a word. She kept Bonny’s reins hooked round one arm, which was just as well, as Bonny was really a very nosey kind of horse. Daisy kept a sharp eye on the baskets of food.

The Inspector talked away cheerfully. The children were disappointed that he had no cases to offer them, and no mystery to suggest.

“It’s just one of those times when nothing whatever happens,” said Inspector Jenks, munching an egg-and-lettuce sandwich hungrily. “No robberies, no swindlings, no crimes of any sort. Very peaceful.”

He waved his sandwich in the air as he spoke and it was neatly taken out of his hand by Bonny. Everyone roared at the Inspector’s surprised face.

“Robbery going on nearby after all!” said Daisy. Hilary scolded Bonny, who backed away into the next picnic party. Buster put his nose out from under the tent canvas, but decided not to come out and join the party yet.

It was while all this was going on that the next mystery loomed up in the very middle of the picnic tea! Nobody expected it. Nobody realized it at first.

Pip happened to be looking down the field, where Mr Tonks, the policeman, was standing beside the Red Cross Tent, having seen to somebody who had fainted in the heat. He stood there, mopping his forehead, probably feeling that he would be the next one to faint, when a man came quickly up to him. He looked like a gardener or handyman.

He spoke to Mr Tonks, who at once took out his black notebook, licked his thumb and flicked over the pages till he came to an empty one. Then he began to write very earnestly.

Pip saw this, but he didn’t think anything of it. But then Tonks walked over to where Inspector Jenks was sitting with the Five Find-Outers and Hilary.

“Excuse me for interrupting, sir,” he said. “But there’s been a daylight robbery in Peterswood. I’ll have to go and investigate, sir. Seems pretty serious.”

“I’ll come with you,” said the Inspector, much to the disappointment of the children. He glanced round. “Sorry,” he said. “Duty calls, and all that! I may not see you again, if I have to go straight back to my office. Thanks for a very fine tea. Goodbye Hilary. You rode very well.”

He stepped straight back on to Bonny, who also backed and pulled Hilary right over with the reins. In the general muddle Fatty spoke to Mr Tonks the policeman.

“Where was the robbery?” he asked.

“At Norton House,” said Mr Tonks. “Up on the hill.”

“Don’t know it,” said Fatty, disappointed. He stood up and spoke persuasively to the Inspector. “I’ll come along with you, sir, shall I? I - er - might be of a little help.”

“Sorry, Frederick - can’t have you along just now,” said the Inspector. “It’ll be a plain enough job, I expect - rather beneath your powers! If it’s not - well, you’ll get going on it, no doubt!”

He went off with Tonks. Fatty stared after them gloomily. Now they would be first on the job - they would see everything, notice everything. And when Goon came back and took over from Tonks he would settle it all up and put a feather in his cap!

He sat down again. If only he could have gone to Norton House and had a snoop round himself! Now he really couldn’t - The Inspector would be annoyed to see him there after he had said he didn’t want him - and certainly the householders wouldn’t allow him to look round all by himself, if he went after the Inspector had left.

“Never mind, Fatty,” said Bets, seeing how disappointed he was. “It’s only a silly little robbery, I expect. Nothing to bother about - no real mystery!”

Then something surprising happened. Hilary burst into tears! She wailed aloud and tears ran down her podgy cheeks.

“What’s the matter? Do you feel sick?” asked Daisy, alarmed.

“No. Oh dear - it’s my home that’s been burgled!” wept Hilary. “I live at Norton House. Uncle Jenks must have forgotten it’s where I live. Oh, what shall I do?”

Fatty rose to the occasion at once. He put his arm round the weeping Hilary. “Now now,” he said, producing an extremely clean white handkerchief, and wiping Hilary’s face with it. “Don’t you worry. I’ll take you home myself. I’ll look after you. I’ll even look round your house to make sure there isn’t a single robber left!”

“Oh, thank you,” said Hilary, still sniffing. “I should hate to go home by myself.”

“We’d better wait a bit till your godfather has had time to look round himself,” said Fatty, who wasn’t going to bump into the Inspector if he could help it. “Then we’ll go - and I’ll soon see that everything is quite quite safe for you, Hilary!”

Fatty Takes His Chance

The others looked at Fatty in admiration. Somehow he always got what he wanted. Things always went right for him. He badly wanted to examine that burgled house, and he had been left behind by the Inspector - and la and behold, he could now go there, taking charge of Hilary, and nobody could say a thing against it!

“I can’t go just yet,” sniffed Hilary. “I’ve got to ride once more. You won’t leave, will you? You will take me right home? You see, my parents are away, and there’s only Jinny there - she’s our housekeeper.”

Better and better! With no parents even to deal with, Fatty felt sure he could snoop as much as he wanted to. Larry and Pip looked at him rather jealously.

“We’ll take Hilary home too,” said Larry.

“Better not,” said Fatty. “Too many cooks etcetera, etcetera.”

Hilary looked at him, wondering what he meant. The others knew all right. Hilary’s tears began to fall again. “It’s my riding prizes I’m thinking of,” she explained, between sobs. “My cups, you know. I’ve won so many. The burglar might have taken them.”

This talk about prizes seemed rather surprising to the others, who had no opinion at all of either Hilary or Bonny as regards horsemanship. Fatty patted her on the shoulder and gave her his enormous handkerchief again.

“I’ll come up to your room with you and see if your things are safe,” said Fatty, feeling very pleased to think of the first-hand examination he could make. “Now don’t cry any more, Hilary.”

Bets looked on a little jealously. That silly little Hilary! Why did Fatty make such a fuss of her? Surely he would be ashamed of her, Bets, if she fussed like that?

“I’ll come too, Fatty,” she said. Fatty was about to say no, when he thought that probably it would be a good idea to let Bets come - Hilary could show her this, that and the other - and he could slip away unseen and snoop round by himself.

“Right, Bets,” he said. “You can come - you’ll be company for Hilary.” Bets was pleased. Now that silly little Hilary wouldn’t have Fatty all to herself - she would see to that!

An enormously loud voice began calling over the field. “Class 22, please take your places, Class 22.”

“That’s my class,” said Hilary, scrambling to her feet. She pulled her cap straight and rubbed her eyes again. She brushed the crumbs off her jacket. Bonny neighed. He wanted to be off, now that he could see various horses moving about again. He had eaten as much tea as the others! He seemed to be an expert at nosing into baskets.

Hilary went off with Bonny, a podgy little figure with a tear-stained face. Fatty looked round triumphantly, winking at the others.

“I shall be in at the start, after all,” he said. “Sorry you can’t come, Pip, Larry and Daisy - but we can’t all descend on the house. They’d smell a rat. Bets might be useful though, she can take up Hilary’s attention whilst I’m looking round.”

Bets nodded. She felt proud to be in at the start with Fatty. “Shall we go after Hilary’s ridden in this show?” she asked. Fatty considered. Yes - Tonks and the Inspector should surely be gone by then.

So, after Class 22 had competed in jumping, and Hilary had most surprisingly won the little silver cup offered, Fatty, Bets and the rest moved off, accompanied by a suddenly cheerful Hilary.

She rode Bonny, who, now that he had won something, seemed a little more sensible. The others walked beside her, till they came to the lane where Larry and Daisy had to leave them. Then a little later Pip left them to go down the lane to his home. Fatty and Bets went on up the hill with Hilary. Buster kept sedately at Fatty’s heels. He kept an eye on Bonny’s legs and thought privately to himself that horses had been supplied with far too many hooves.

They came to Norton House. The Inspector’s car was still outside. Blow! Fortunately Hilary didn’t want to go in the front way. She wanted to take Bonny to the stables, which were round at the back.

Bonny was led into his stable. “Don’t you rub him down or anything before you leave him?” asked Fatty. “I’d be pleased to do it for you, Hilary. You’ve had a tiring afternoon.”

Hilary thought that Fatty was the nicest boy she had ever met in her life. Fancy thinking of things like that! She wouldn’t have been so much impressed if she had known how desperately Fatty was trying to stay down in the stables till the Inspector had gone!

Fatty groomed the pony so thoroughly that even Hilary was amazed. Bets watched with Buster, rather bored. “See if they’ve gone,” whispered Fatty to her, jerking his head towards the front garden. Bets disappeared. She soon came back. She nodded. Fatty straightened up, relieved. Now he could stop working on that fat, restless pony!

“Now we’ll go to the house and find out exactly what happened,” said Fatty to Hilary. “I expect your housekeeper is there. She’ll tell us everything. Then you must show Bets all the prizes you have won. She’ll love to see them. Won’t you, Bets?”

“Yes,” said Bets, doubtfully.

“You must see them too, Fatty,” said Hilary. He nodded - also doubtfully.

“Come along,” said Hilary and they walked up a long garden path to the house. It was a nice house, square-built, with plenty of windows. Trees surrounded it, and it could not be seen from the road.

They went in at the back door. A woman there gave a little scream of fright. “Oh, lawks! Oh, it’s you, Miss Hilary. I’m in such a state of nerves, I declare I’d scream if I saw my own reflection in a mirror!”

Fatty looked at her. She was a plump little woman, with bright eyes and a good-tempered, sensible mouth. He liked her. She sank down into a chair and fanned herself.

“I’ve just heard about the robbery,” said Hilary. “Jinny, this is a boy who’s brought me home and this is a girl called Bets. They are friends of my godfather, Inspector Jenks.”

“Oh, are they?” said Jinny, and Fatty saw that they had gone up in her estimation at once. “Ah, he’s a fine man, that Inspector Jenks. So patient and kind. Went over everything, he did, time and time again. And the questions he asked me! Well there now, you’d never think anyone could pour them out like that!”

“It must have been a great shock for you, Jinny,” said Fatty, in his most courteous and sympathetic voice. He had a wonderful voice for that sort of thing. Bets loked at him in admiration. “I was sorry for poor little Hilary too. I felt I really must see her home.”

“That was real gentlemanly of you,” said Jinny, thinking that Fatty was just about the nicest boy she had ever met. “She’s nervous, is Miss Hilary. And I’ll be nervous too, after this!”

“Oh, you don’t need to be,” said Fatty. “Burglars hardly ever come to the same place twice. Do tell us all about it - if it won’t tire you too much.”

Jinny would not have been tired if she had told her story a hundred times. She began at once.

“Well, I was sitting here, half-asleep-like, with my knitting on my knee - about four o’clock it must have been. And I was thinking to myself, ‘I must really get up and put the kettle on to boil,’ when I heard a noise.”

“Oooh,” said Hilary faintly.

“What sort of noise?” asked Fatty, wishing he could take out his notebook and put all this down. Still, if he forgot anything, Bets would remember it.

“A sort of thudding noise,” said Jinny. “Out there in the garden somewhere. Like as if somebody had thrown something out of the window and it had landed plonk in the garden.”

“Go on,” said Fatty, and Bets and Hilary listened, all eyes.

“Then I heard a cough upstairs somewhere,” said Jinny. “A man’s deep cough that was stifled quickly as if he didn’t want to be heard. That made me sit up, I can tell you! ‘A man!’ I says to myself. ‘Upstairs and all! Can’t be the master come back - anyway that’s not his cough.’ So up I gets, and I yells up the stairs: ‘If there’s anybody up there that shouldn’t be, I’m getting the police!’”