William Arden - The Mystery of the Laughing Shadow

“But, Jupe,” Peter said, “what does ‘eye of the sky’ mean?”

Jupiter thought. “Well, what is in the sky that looks sort of like an eye?”

“Some clouds sometimes?” Pete suggested.

“I know,” Bob said, “the sun.”

Jupiter nodded. “Or the moon. It’s supposed to look like a face.”

“How could they hide the Hoard in the moon, or the sun?” Pete objected.

“Not in the moon or sun, Pete,” said Jupiter, “but maybe a place where the sun or moon always shines on some exact spot! The way the sun shone on certain temples in the old days.”

“Sure,” Bob said. “People used to build temples with a hole in the roof so that the sun would shine right on the altar.”

“Only,” the First Investigator went on unhappily, “this would have to be a very special place at a very special time.”

Pete understood why Jupiter was unhappy. “You mean we’d have to find the right spot at exactly the right moment in order to know that the sun or the moon ever does something special like that.”

“I’m afraid so, Pete.” Jupiter sounded dejected. Then he suddenly brightened. “Unless Magnus Verde didn’t mean anything that complicated. For instance, he might have meant that the sun or moon looks like an eye through a certain mountain pass or valley. Do we know any place like that near here?”

“Gosh, Jupe, not that I ever heard of,” Pete said. “Anyway, what if it isn’t around here? Bob said that the Chumash band had hideouts everywhere.”

“And Magnus Verde said no one could find it,” Bob added.

“I’m convinced that Magnus Verde was taunting his captors with a riddle of some kind,” Jupiter insisted. “If only we knew why that dark man wanted the statuette so much.”

“Gosh, I forgot,” Bob cried. “I’ve got more to tell you. That man and his friend attacked Mr. Harris!”

Bob repeated the news report that his Dad had heard on the radio the previous evening.

Jupiter jumped up.

“We should go and talk to Mr. Harris,” the First Investigator said. “He could have learned something important. But one of us ought to stay with the phone. The recorder can’t ask questions.”

“It’s Pete’s turn,” said Bob.

“I guess it is,” Pete agreed.

“We’ll take the walkie-talkie so Pete can contact us if he hears anything on the Ghost-to-Ghost,” Jupiter said.

After finding the address of the Vegetarian League, Bob and Jupiter rode over on their bikes. It took only about ten minutes to reach the large Gothic house on Las Palmas Street that turned out to be Vegetarian League headquarters. It was the last house on the block, located right on the edge of town. The dry brown mountains came straight down to the road on the other side. There was an alley behind the houses on Las Palmas Street, where the residents had their garages.

The two boys parked their bikes at the gate, went up to the front door, and rang the bell. A short, heavy man opened the door. They asked for Mr. Harris.

“Boys!” called Mr. Harris himself from just behind the stocky man. “It’s all right, Sanders, I know the boys. Come in! This is a pleasure. I hardly expected you here so soon. Have you come to join our League?”

The short man, Sanders, who was obviously an employee of Mr. Harris’s, went back to work on a pile of boxes in the dim entrance hall. Jupiter hastily explained that they had not come to become vegetarians.

“Er, no sir, we didn’t come to join. We want to talk to you.”

“Talk? Well, let’s go into my office. Watch your step, we’ve hardly settled in here yet. I do wish you were here to join us. We need all the help we can get. Everything has to be done by myself, and my two most devoted assistants.”

The boys picked their way through the jumble of boxes, hooks, filing cabinets and stacks of pamphlets. Mr. Harris ushered them through a heavy oak door and into a large, sunny room set up as an office. As he sat down behind an ancient desk, he waved the boys to chairs.

“Now, what’s on your minds?”

Jupiter explained, “We heard about the attack on you, sir.”

“Ah, yes, the crazy chap simply jumped on me. There were two of them, but only one actually attacked me. I was on the platform giving a brief talk. I defended myself, of course, and the audience began calling for the police, so the two men ran off.”

“Why did they attack you, sir?” Bob asked.

“I simply don’t know.”

“Did they say anything?” Jupiter queried.

“Not in English. The rascal shouted a great deal, but it was all gibberish to me. I tried to capture him, but he eluded me. Both men were gone before the police arrived. I assume they were some fanatics who hate vegetarians. We’ve had to face that kind of ignorant prejudice many times. People often hate someone just because he is different from them, I’m afraid.”

“I know that, sir,” Jupiter said, “but I don’t think those men were against you because you were a vegetarian.”

Mr. Harris looked startled. “No? Then why did they attack me? Do you mean that you have some theory about it?”

“We sure do!” Bob said firmly. “We know… ”

Bob stopped, suddenly aware of a faint sound somewhere in the office. Mr. Harris heard it, too, and began to look around with a puzzled frown. It was a very low beep-beep-beep . All at once Bob realized what it was. Pete must be trying to reach them on the walkie-talkies they were carrying.

Jupiter had heard it, too. He stood up abruptly. “I’m sorry, sir, but we have to go. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

“Of course, Jupiter,” Mr. Harris said. “I’ll be here for a little while before I get to see Miss Sandow. I visit the dear lady every day. After all, without her I wouldn’t have been able to start our league here in Rocky Beach.”

“Yes, sir,” Jupiter said, as he turned and hurried out of the office.

The boys knew that Pete could not reach them on their walkie-talkies while they were inside a building — at least not from such a distance. They walked rapidly through the haphazard stacks in the entry hall, and out into the sun of the open front garden. Jupiter found a large bush between the door and the gate, and the two of them crouched down.

Jupiter pressed his sending button. “First here. Come in, Second. Come in, Second. We are receiving. Over.”

Pete’s voice came faintly from the small walkie-talkie. Jupe and Bob leaned close. “Second here. Do you read me? Come in, First! Do you read me? Over.”

“First and Records receiving. Come in. Over.” Jupiter spoke into his transmitter.

“Jupe?” Pete’s faint voice sounded excited. “A report just came in on the Ghost-to-Ghost. A kid saw the dark men! They’re in their car parked on Las Palmas Street near… ”

Bob shouted, “Jupe! It’s them! There they are!”

Jupiter jumped up. His finger came off the receiving button, cutting off Pete’s voice, but neither Bob nor Jupiter was thinking about Pete. One of the dark men in the strange white clothes stood beside their bikes at the gate. The other was standing between them and the door of the house.

Both men began to move menacingly towards them, brandishing ugly knives. The boys could not reach their bikes. And they were also cut off from the house.

“Run!” Jupiter cried. “To the hills, Bob!”

They turned and raced round the corner of the house. The two men stood there uncertainly for a moment, shouting. At the end of the garden, near the dry brown hills, the fence was low. The boys went over it without looking back.