The Mystery of the Invisible Dog - M. V. Carey [39]
Bob and Pete went to their posts, and
Prentice and Niedland followed Jupe to the
pool. He shed all of his clothes but his shorts and, shivering, slid carefully into the shallow end.
“Steady now,” said Prentice anxiously.
Jupe waded towards the deep end,
scanning the blue and gold tiles on the
bottom. When the water reached his chin he
ducked under and let himself sink. Then,
kicking out like a frog, he propelled himself
forward just above the floor of the pool.
He kicked out again, and then he reached
for something.
“He’s found it!” Fenton Prentice’s voice
was an excited whisper. “By jove, he’s found
it!”
Jupe shot to the surface. In his hand he
held an object from which a string dangled.
He paddled to the edge of the pool and offered his prize up to Fenton Prentice.
“The Hound!” exclaimed the old gentleman. He took the sculpture and turned it over and over in his hands. It was a strangely beautiful figure of a heavily muscled dog with a square massive head. The wide round eyes were rimmed with gold, and gold froth flecked the crystal jowls. The sculpture was about six inches tall, from the bottom of the glass base to the tips of the dog’s ears. Between the feet of the animal was a human skull.
Someone had tied a long piece of gilt cord around the dog’s middle.
“So simple,” said Jupiter. “The burglar didn’t even have to get into the pool. He lowered the Hound by that cord until it touched bottom, then let go. The gold cord was invisible against the random pattern of blue and gold tiles.
“Ingenious!” said Charles Niedland.
“May I have it back?” said Jupiter to Fenton Prentice.
“What?” said Prentice.
“I said, may I have it? I want to put it back in the pool.”
“Why on earth?”
“Because tonight the burglar may come back for the dog. He’s still expecting you to deliver the ransom tomorrow. We’ll return the invisible dog to its hiding place, and then we’ll watch the TV monitor — and find out who the burglar is!”
“I see.” But Fenton Prentice still held on to the dog.
“It makes sense, Fenton,” said Charles Niedland.
“But … but the dog could be injured, chipped, broken!”
“So far the burglar has been careful with it,” said Jupe. “I think he’ll stay careful.”
Fenton Prentice sighed and handed the crystal statue back to Jupe, who lowered it slowly into the water where he’d found it.
“I need a towel,” he said. “I don’t want anybody to know I’ve been in the pool. There mustn’t be any wet footprints on the deck.”
Charles Niedland bounded up the stairs and was back in a minute with several towels and a thick bath mat. Jupe climbed out of the pool on to the mat and hastily dried himself.
“Hassell’s coming!” Pete had darted in from the front gate.
“Get Bob!” ordered Jupe as he scooped up his clothes. “Quick! Everybody upstairs.”
As the group dashed into Prentice’s apartment, footsteps could be heard on the stairs that led from the street to the gate. Jupe nicked on the TV monitor and watched Alex Hassell stalk stiffly across the court and go into his own apartment.
“He didn’t even look at the pool,” said Jupe.
“Why should he?” asked Bob.
“Because, even though I was very careful, the water is slightly disturbed. It always is when someone goes into a swimming pool. It won’t be completely still again for some time.”
“Then Hassell isn’t our burglar,” decided Pete.
“Either he isn’t our burglar, or he’s afraid he’s being watched. He might notice the pool and be too smart to react visibly. We’ll see.”
In the courtyard, cats began drifting in. They gathered in a silent semicircle around Alex Hassell’s door and sat, waiting. Presently Hassell came out with some dishes. The cats ate as he watched. He petted them and talked to them; then they departed. In a short time Hassell himself left the building.
The boys helped Fenton Prentice cook dinner and they all ate, with one of the Investigators constantly watching the TV monitor. At eleven, the lights in the courtyard went out.
Pete got his jacket out of the closet. “Here we go again with the night watch on the balcony.”
“I think I’ll watch with you,” said