William Arden - The Secret of the Crooked Cat

“Yes, that could well be, boys,” the Chief said.

“Khan is a strange man. He stayed aloof from us,” Mr. Carson said. “He never got friendly with anyone.”

“Well, we’ll find him,” Chief Reynolds said grimly.

The police, and Mr. Carson’s roughnecks, had spread out over the entire area. They were searching the open lot, all the carnival booths and tents, and vehicles. No cars or trucks had been reported missing. They were combing the old amusement park again, and searching all along the edge of the ocean, and through the streets and buildings near the carnival. After still another hour they had found no trace of the boys or Khan.

“I’m worried,” Chief Reynolds admitted at last. “They seem to have vanished into thin air. But we won’t give up. I think that that old amusement park is the key, so I have men searching all through it again for — ”

Shouts came suddenly from far off inside the amusement park.

“It’s my men!” Chief Reynolds exclaimed. “They’ve found something! Follow me, boys!”

The boys and Mr. Carson hurried after the Chief through the hole in the high fence. At the edge of the dark ocean they saw a knot of policemen and roughnecks.

“Have you found them? The boys?” Chief Reynolds demanded.

“No, Chief,” a policeman said, “but we found him!”

The knot opened, and two policemen pushed Khan forward. The strong man shook them off like flies and glared.

“What the devil does this mean!” Khan demanded.

The bearded strong man’s muscles gleamed in the hard yellow light of the electric lanterns.

“Tell us what you’re doing here, Khan!” Mr. Carson snapped.

“That’s my business, Carson.”

Bob couldn’t hold himself back. “He’s the robber! Make him tell what he’s done to Jupe and Pete!”

“Robber?” Khan roared. “I’m not the robber, you fools! I chased him. I told you that.”

“And what have you been doing for the last three hours while we looked for you?” Chief Reynolds wanted to know.

“I came back here to look for the robber on my own! I had a hunch that — ”

“He’s lying!” Bob cried hotly. “I’ll bet even that beard is false!”

Before Khan could move, Chief Reynolds reached out and grabbed his beard. Khan hurled the Chief off and the black beard came off in the Chief’s hand! They all stared at Khan.

“All right,” Khan said, “of course it’s false.” The strong man went on to pull off his sideburns and wild wig, revealing himself as a young man with close-cropped light hair. “We all wear costumes in the carnival. What’s a strong man without a black beard?”

“But you never took off your beard and hair, Khan!” Mr. Carson said. “You were hired wearing that beard and hair! You let us think that was your real appearance — even when the San Mateo police questioned us all!”

Khan waved his massive hand. “You know why, Carson. I’m used to working better shows than your two-bit carnival. I didn’t want to be recognized and have my reputation ruined.”

“I don’t think he’s even a strong man!” Andy cried.

“Is he Gabbo, Dad?”

“No,” Mr. Carson said, looking closely. “He’s not Gabbo.”

“But he is lying!” Bob accused hotly. Khan faced them all menacingly, his muscles bulging.

“Am I, boy? Then — ”

Khan was staring out towards the ocean. “What —?”

“Chief, look!” a policeman cried.

Everyone looked out at the ocean. On the moonlit water was a strange sight — a lopsided, half-collapsed out-rigger boat sailing raggedly up to the shore with Pete and Jupiter on their feet and waving to them with broad grins.

“It’s them!” Bob said.

“Pete, Jupe!” Andy shouted.

Jupiter and Pete beached their ungainly craft and came running up to rejoin their friends. In a matter of minutes they had told the whole story of their hours on the ocean and the island.

“You sailed back in that?” Chief Reynolds asked.

“Pete is an excellent sailor,” Jupiter replied, “and we had to get back at once! I think I know where to find what the robber has been looking for! I don’t think he’s found it yet!”

“But we have the robber, Jupe!” Bob said “It was Khan there all along, just as you suspected,”

Jupiter looked at the strong man standing surrounded by policemen and glaring angrily at them all. I.

“No,” Jupiter said. “Khan isn’t the robber.”

Khan growled, “I told them that, boy.”

“He’s an impostor, Jupiter,” Mr. Carson said, “and he was searching Andy’s trailer. You saw him!”

“No, sir, I don’t think he was,” Jupiter said politely but firmly. “When Pete and I were under the tarpaulin in that boat, I realized that there must have been two men, and that Khan was chasing the real robber. When he heard us in the fun house, he thought we were the robber.”

“How do you deduce that, Jupiter?” Chief Reynolds asked.

“He warned us that he saw us, Chief,” Jupiter said “That is how a pursuer acts, not someone being pursued. The real robber would have wanted to remain hidden from us!”

The chief nodded, “Well, yes, I see. But you can’t — ”

“Also,” Jupiter went on boldly, “Khan was bare to the waist when we saw him, and wearing only those tights. His hands were empty. He had no place to carry a pistol or a knife, and the man who set us adrift had both a pistol and a knife!”

“The boy is smarter than any of you,” Khan declared.

“Finally,” Jupiter added, “in the boat we distinctly heard the sound of soft, rubber-soled shoes on the man who cut us loose. You can all see that Khan is wearing his heavy boots.”

Khan laughed. “I told you I was in the clear.”

“Well, Mr. Khan, I wouldn’t say that,” Jupiter pronounced. “I believe you are an impostor, and you are up to something you don’t want known! You are in the carnival for some devious purpose. I expect Chief Reynolds can find out if he asks the right questions in the right place.”

The First Investigator was looking at Khan with a cool smile. The strong man glanced round, and then looked straight back at Jupiter. At last he sighed.

“I guess you are a smart boy at that,” Khan said. “All right. Yes, I’m here for a secret purpose. I’m a real strong man, but I retired a few years ago to become a private detective. My real name is Paul Harney, and Andy’s grandmother hired me to keep an eye on Andy and the show. She honestly believes that carnival life is wrong for Andy. She sent me to protect him and to see how dangerous the show is.”

“You didn’t cause our accidents?” Mr. Carson demanded.

“No, but when they began to happen I became worried. I did try to persuade you to close the show, Carson. I snooped around because the accidents seemed to endanger Andy, and I wanted to be sure they were just accidents.”

“You were protecting Andy?” Mr. Carson said.

“Yes, Carson. That was my job,” Khan replied.

Jupiter frowned. “Most commendable, Mr. Khan, or Harney, but I don’t think it’s the whole truth. You were at Andy’s equipment trailer because you suspected that what the robber wanted might be in the trailer. You weren’t protecting Andy!”

Khan’s eyes glittered. He was silent for a moment. Then he nodded. “You’re right, son. After the police questioned us all in San Mateo, I had a hunch that the bank robber was a member of the carnival. I’m a detective, and it would help my reputation if I caught a bank robber by myself. So I began to investigate. After Andy’s cat was stolen, I guessed that the robber had put something in those crooked cats. But no one in the show fits the robber’s description, and by now he has what he wanted. It wasn’t in one of those cats after all.”