The Mystery of the Laughing Shadow

“But they would have reported in, sir,” Jupiter said.
“Perhaps not at once, Jupiter,” Mr. Harris said.
“That’s right,” the Chief agreed. “They might not have had a chance yet. But I don’t much like the idea of them trailing after those two men like that.”
Jupiter was not convinced, but he had to admit that if Bob and Pete had spotted the two men they might well have tried to follow them and find out where they were hiding. It was what he himself would have done.
“I think we’d better start looking for the boys,” Chief Reynolds decided.
“At once!” Mr. Harris agreed. “But before you go, Chief, I’d like you to take the second amulet to your office. I don’t want to keep it here.”
They went into Mr. Harris’s office. The vegetarian strode to his safe, opened it, and took out a small box. He carried the box to his desk, which was littered with the remains of a hurried meal.
“Pardon the mess, I was eating a snack at my desk,” he said, sweeping the debris into his wastepaper basket, and opening the box. “There, that’s what all the fuss seems to be about.”
They crowded round and looked down at the second grinning little gold man. The Chief examined it, shaking his head in bafflement over what importance it could have, then passed it along to Jupiter. The First Investigator opened the secret compartment, but found it was empty.
“No message in this one, sir,” he said.
“Then it looks as if those two ruffians are after the amulet itself, wouldn’t you say?” Mr. Harris commented. “I’ll feel better with it in the hands of the police. At least, no one can steal it, and we can turn our attention to tracking down the villains and finding out what they’re up to.”
“Maybe Bob and Pete can tell us where to find them,” Chief Reynolds said. “That is, if we can just locate Bob and Pete. Come on, Jupiter, I think we’d better start looking for them.”
“Call me the instant you have any information and let me know if there is anything I can do,” said Mr. Harris. “Tomorrow I’m going to ask young Ted Sandow some questions.” Harris’s voice sounded stern. “I hope he has an explanation.”
Outside on the street again, the Chief and his men hurried to their car. Jupiter followed more slowly, his keen eyes searching the hot, sunny neighbourhood. Suddenly, the stocky First Investigator pointed to the small alley between two old houses across the street.
“Chief! I see something! Tyre marks over there!” Jupiter raced across the street. Chief Reynolds caught up with him in the narrow alleyway.
“They were here, Chief! I recognize a patch in Bob’s tyre tracks. They must have been hiding in this alley, watching the house. Look, on the ground there!”
Where Pete had crouched, waiting, there was a small pile of stones in the shape of a crude cone.
“Pete always piles stones like that,” Jupiter said. “It’s a reflex.”
“Then they must have seen someone and followed them. Their bikes aren’t here.”
Jupiter looked all round the alley. “I don’t know, sir. They should have left some sign if they had done that. We always carry coloured chalk to leave a trail.”
“They probably didn’t have time. We’ll send out an All-Points Bulletin on them at once. I don’t think we ought to alarm their parents yet.”
“No, sir,” Jupiter agreed. “Possibly they’re back at the salvage yard by now.”
“I hope so, son,” Chief Reynolds said. “I only wish we had more to go on. I’m sure we’ll find, the dark men eventually, but I wish I had a better idea of who that laughing shadow could be.”
“He’s tall, sir. We know that. And the two men are quite short. Ted Sandow is tall.”
“But you boys are familiar with Ted Sandow’s voice, right? Wouldn’t you know if he was the laughing shadow?”
“We ought to.” Jupiter frowned, obviously in deep concentration. “But that laugh certainly didn’t sound like anyone I know.”
“The way you describe it, it doesn’t really sound like a voice at all.”
“That’s it!” Jupiter exclaimed. “No voice at all! At least not a human kind of voice. It reminds me of a story by Edgar Allan Poe, where no one understood the murderer’s language because the murderer turned out to be an ape. Only this was no ape. But isn’t there something… something in Australia, I think, that has a laugh that sounds — “,
“What are you talking about, Jupiter?”
Jupiter chewed his lip in despair. “I… I can’t remember exactly but I know it has something to do with an animal from Australia. Ted Sandow has an accent. He says he’s from England, but maybe he isn’t. Maybe he’s an impostor from Australia.”
“Well, if you’re talking about accents, what about Harris, himself?” Chief Reynolds asked. “He sounds like a Limey, to me.”
Jupiter’s eyes brightened. “Chief!” he exclaimed. “Do you think Harris could be an Australian? I don’t think that is a British accent at all.”
“I don’t know, but I’ll contact the Australian authorities right away and ask about both of them. We can certainly provide a good description.”
They drove back to police headquarters, where the Chief went to work immediately. He sent out the All-Points Bulletin (APB) on Bob and Pete. It would alert the police in Rocky Beach and the whole county to be on the lookout for the boys. He also placed a call to Australia.
Jupiter hurried back to the salvage yard, but there was no one inside the hidden trailer. Scared now, he sat and stared at the telephone. What if Bob and Pete were prisoners? There might not be time for an APB to find them. He couldn’t just sit there waiting. If he went back to Mr. Harris’s house, he might still find some clue he had missed earlier.
He picked up the telephone to call the Rent-’n-Ride Auto Rental Company. If he found a sign from Bob and Pete, he might want to be able to move quickly.
 
15
A Villain Unmasked
Fifteen minutes later Jupiter slipped out through Green Gate One and ran to the waiting Rolls-Royce.
“The Vegetarian League, Worthington, and fast,” the First Investigator said urgently, and gave the address.
“Instantly Master Jones.”
The magnificent gold-plated vehicle glided smoothly along the streets and turned into Las Palmas Street towards the Gothic headquarters of the Vegetarian League. Jupiter scanned the street anxiously for any signs of his chums.
When the Rolls-Royce was a block away, Mr. Harris’s car came tearing down the street towards them and passed in a cloud of dust. Jupiter started to shout to him, but Mr. Harris did not even glance at the Rolls-Royce. The vegetarian was bent grimly over his steering wheel, his face dark and brooding.
“Was that a gentleman you know, Master Jones?” Worthington asked. “Shall I attempt to catch him?”
“He said he was going to wait for news about Bob and Pete,” Jupiter said, looking back at the vanishing car. “But maybe something happened to change his plans. Just drive on to the house, Worthington.”
Worthington continued on, and the big car slid silently to a stop at the front door. Jupiter was out like a shot, with Worthington striding up the path behind him. The front door was open. Jupiter raced inside and stood listening.
“Do you hear anything, Worthington?”
“No, Master Jones. What are we looking for?”
“Bob and Pete,” the First Investigator replied. “Some sign from them, probably in chalk, or some clue that shows they were in here.”
“You feel that they may be in some difficulty?”
“I don’t know,” Jupiter admitted. “The Chief thinks they’re off somewhere on their own, and maybe he’s right, but I’m sure they would have left some sign in that case.”
“I agree,” Worthington said quietly.
“Chief Reynolds and his men searched the upper floors, but they might not have noticed a chalked sign. You go and look upstairs, Worthington, and I’ll look out in the street again.”