The Mystery of the Rogues' Reunion - Marc Brandel [26]
The other Wee Rogues all shook their heads. They were going into town to buy some ice cream, and they didn’t want to be bothered taking the baby with them.
“But we can’t just leave him here,” Pretty Peggy said. “Poor little thing.”
“Okay, you stay with him,” Bonehead told her.
But Peggy wanted to go into town too. In the end they decided to draw lots for it.
“Yeah, lotth and lotth,” Baby Fatso said. “Lotth and lotth of ice cream.”
Bonehead cheated and Flapjack lost.
“How come Ah gets to do all the chores around here?” the black kid moaned in his singsong voice. “Ah ain’t cut out to be no babysitter.”
The episode was the one about Mr. Trouble and his earful of stolen radios. Mr. Trouble paid the Wee Rogues to watch the car while he made a phone call. They were all horsing around in the old Fierce-Arrow convertible when the police arrived. The kids were hauled off to the police station.
Back in the kitchen Flapjack decided to make his own ice cream. Baby Fatso helped him, putting salt in it instead of sugar.
Mr. Trouble stole his convertible back from the police. There was a car chase, the Wee Rogues whooping and yelling in the back of the police car. …
Jupe stood up and turned the set off.
“But how did it come out?” Pete protested. “Did they catch Mr. Trouble?”
“No,” Jupe told him. “They wanted to use the same actor, Edmund Frank, in a later episode in which he hired Flapjack to steal a dog for him, so they let him get away that time.
He picked up the phone and dialled a number. “Hullo, Mr. Harker,” he said after a moment. “It’s Jupiter Jones here. I wonder if you’d mind coming out to the salvage yard. Yes, as soon as possible.”
“Where are we going?” Bob wanted to know after Jupe had hung up.
“Nowhere,” Jupe answered in his thinking-aloud voice. “It just occurred to me that if we’re going to find out who did steal those cups we need an ally, a friend. Someone whom nobody suspects.”
He refused to say any more until the limousine pulled up at the gates. Uncle Titus and Aunt Mathilda had gone to an auction. Jupe invited Gordon Harker into the house across the street from the salvage yard to have a cup of coffee.
They all sat in the large, pleasant kitchen. Jupe put a pot of coffee on the stove for Mr. Harker and got sodas for the Three Investigators.
Jupiter started to talk about the quiz show. “I’m glad they didn’t ask me what make that car was,” he said. “I didn’t know the answer to that question either.”
“Didn’t you?” Gordon Harker sipped his coffee. “You knew all the other answers.”
“Yes, but I was never in any of those scenes,” Jupe explained. “The scenes with Mr. Trouble’s convertible. Bonehead and Bloodhound and the others were, and I guess they must have asked Luther Lomax or someone what kind of car it was then. That’s how Bonehead knew. He remembered it was a Pierce-Arrow. But I never even saw the car.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” the chauffeur agreed. “I was watching that episode on television just before you called.” He smiled. “You and that black kid, Flapjack, stayed home and made your own ice cream.”
“Do you like watching those old shows?” Jupe asked.
Harker shrugged. “They’re kind of silly,” he admitted. “But they give me a laugh sometimes.”
“They are pretty silly.” Jupe nodded. “But that was the whole point, wasn’t it? They made us all act like idiots. Bonehead with his wiggling ears. Bloodhound with his lolling tongue. Me with my lisp. Footsie with his enormous feet. And Flapjack with his singsong way of talking.”
Jupe paused for a moment.
“How come Ah gets to do all the chores around here?” Jupe was giving an excellent imitation of the black kid’s voice. “Ah ain’t cut out to be no babysitter.”
Gordon Harker laughed. “That’s pretty good,” he said.
The First Investigator leaned forward across the table.
“It all seems rather embarrassing now, doesn’t it?” he asked.”At least it does to me.”
“I guess it must.” The chauffeur picked up his cap. “Well, let’s get going,” he suggested. “Where do you want me to drive you?”
“Nowhere, right now.” Jupe held out his hand. “I just wanted to say hello.