Nick West - The Mystery of the Coughing Dragon

“Wow!” Pete whispered. He shrank back in his seat involuntarily. “That’s real, all right!”

Bob stared at the monster moving closer on the screen, and his hands gripped the arms of his seat tightly.

Jupiter sat quietly, concentrating on every move the screen dragon made.

Spellbound they watched the film until the finish. When the dark projection room was flooded suddenly with light, they were still tense and shaking from the film’s impact.

As they walked to the rear of the room, their legs were rubbery.

“Whiskers!” Bob exclaimed. “I’m beat. It was just like last night, all over again. I forgot it was a movie!”

Jupiter nodded. “There’s the proof of how a master of horror can achieve his effects. Mr. Allen had the skill to make us accept and believe anything he wanted. He scared us all out of our wits with a make-believe dragon on a celluloid film. That was his intention and we let him. That’s something we must always remember.”

“Well?” asked Alfred Hitchcock. “Can you see now why my friend Allen was once regarded as the master of horror films?”

Jupiter nodded. He had a lot of questions to ask the mystery director, but he saw Mr. Hitchcock was busy and his secretary waiting to take notes. Instead, he thanked him for providing the film.

“You’ve seen your film dragon now,” Alfred Hitchcock said. “I shall await with great anticipation your solution of the mystery of the one in Seaside ”

He ushered the boys out and they headed for the gleaming Rolls-Royce where Worthington waited.

They settled back against the leather seats as the tall chauffeur drove slowly towards the gate.

“You told us to watch the dragon closely,” Bob said after a moment, “and I did. I couldn’t see any difference between this dragon and ours. Could you, Pete?”

Pete shook his head. “The only thing different was this dragon had a better roar than ours.”

“I don’t think it had a better roar,” Bob replied. “It’s just that ours seemed to cough a lot.”

Jupiter smiled. “Exactly,” he said.

“What do you mean, Jupe?” Pete asked.

“Apparently our dragon in Seaside is more susceptible to bad weather. It seems to have developed a cold.”

Bob looked intently at Jupe who was sitting back looking quite content. He didn’t trust that look. It meant as he had learned from the past, that Jupe was on to something. Something that had eluded both Pete and himself.

“How could a dragon catch a cold?” he asked.

“They’re supposed to live in damp caves and water.”

Jupiter nodded. “My thoughts exactly. And in a few more hours when we return, we shall be able to expose the mystery of why our cave dragon coughs. If my theory is correct, it might explain why we were allowed to leave the cave, and are still alive.”

Pete thought about this and frowned. “That sounds pretty good, Jupe. But what if your theory isn’t correct?”

Jupiter blew out his cheeks. “It had better be,” he said. “After all, I’m betting our lives on it.”

Pete suddenly exploded. “Maybe it’s time you stopped being so mysterious, Jupe, and told us what’s going on. We became The Three Investigators to solve riddles and unexplained mysteries. Nobody said anything about becoming Kamikaze suicide pilots. I like my life. Bob probably likes his, too. How about it, Bob?”

Bob nodded, smiling. “I do, I do! And if I lose it, who will you get to do your research and keep your records? Pete’s right, Jupe. What gives?”

Jupe shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure, yet. Naturally I wasn’t intending to risk our lives needlessly. But there are times when it becomes necessary to take a chance.”

Pete shook his head. “Oh no you don’t. You’ll have to convince me first. I saw a film the other night that my Dad brought home. One with a lot of his special effects. The scientist hero in it took a chance, too, and I’d hate to tell you what happened to him.”

Jupe frowned. “I’d forgotten your father was a special-effects man for pictures, Pete. What was it about?”

Pete grinned. “About bugs.”

“Bugs?”

“Ants and beetles that take over the world,” Pete explained. “One of those science-fiction films. And believe me, it was as scary as that old picture we just saw with the dragon. These insects were fifty to a hundred feet tall — as high as buildings.”

“How did they do that?” Jupe asked.

“They used real insects,” Pete replied.

“Come on, Pete,” Bob said sarcastically. “Real insects as high as buildings?”

Pete nodded. “My Pop explained it to me. It’s a different process from the ones Mr. Hitchcock explained to us.

“They photograph real insects through a prism — like a monocle — and then blow them up and superimpose them — photograph them again next to pictures of buildings. Naturally they look real, and scary because they are real! That’s how they do a lot of these pictures about monsters that come from outer space.”

Jupiter was pinching his lower lip again, his eyes thoughtful. “Do you still have the picture at your house?”

“It’ll be there for at least another week,” Pete said. “My Pop even suggested that you and Bob might like to see it. You’re invited over, any night. Also, it’s free!”

Jupiter looked impatient. “I’m afraid we’ll need it sooner than that, Pete.” He glanced at his watch, then turned to Pete again. “Is your projector battery operated?”

Pete nodded. “Sure. It works both ways.”

Jupe pursed his lips. “Is it your own property, not a loan from the studio?”

“It’s ours, all right,” Pete said. “Or my Pop’s, anyway. Say, what’s all this about?”

“It’s about saving our lives — and possibly solving a mystery at the same time. Do you think your Dad would loan us your projector and the film you saw, just for tonight?”

Pete blinked. “You mean, to take out?”

“To take out,” Jupe repeated. “It sounds like the kind of picture I’d like to show somebody.”

Pete rubbed at his nose, and then shrugged. “I don’t know. I suppose so, Jupe. I’d have to phone him, of course, to get permission.”

“That’s great,” Jupiter said.

“Okay,” Pete said. “But before I try to convince my Pop of anything, I want to know where we are going tonight — and why. I’m tired of being in the dark.”

Bob nodded in agreement.

They both looked at Jupiter Jones. For a moment, he tried to disregard their stares. Finally, he shrugged and threw his hands open.

“Very well,” he said. “I was hoping to keep my clues and deductions a secret. Mostly because I’m not certain yet if they’re entirely correct. And even if they are, I’m still at a loss as to where they lead. This investigation started with trying to locate a missing dog. Since then, we have unearthed other mysteries. None of which appear to have anything at all to do with the mystery of the missing dog or dogs of Seaside. Mr. Allen hired us to find his dog, Red Rover. But I have felt from the start that the mystery of the other missing dogs would be cleared up when we found his. That was before we met the dragon.”

“What about the dragon?” Bob inquired. “You’ve made it pretty clear you think it’s a fake one. How come?”

“Yes,” Jupe said. “Even though I panicked and ran as you both did, I have several reasons for doubting the authenticity of the dragon in the cave.”

“Give us one, for a starter,” Pete said. “What makes you think it wasn’t real?”