The Mystery of the Laughing Shadow

Once inside, unobserved, they crawled beneath piles of junk and through hidden passages and finally stood before a panel that opened and admitted them into their trailer headquarters. In the office they quickly discussed just what they would say to Bob’s dad, and Bob reached for the telephone.
“Jupiter Jones!” a powerful female voice called from somewhere outside.
“Uh!” Pete grunted. “It’s your Aunt Mathilda, Jupe. I hope she doesn’t want you to work all afternoon!”
Before the First Investigator could comment, his aunt’s voice boomed out again:
“Jupiter! Sakes and goodness, where does that boy get to? Jupiter! There’s someone here to see you, you young scamp! A Mister Sandow!.. Jupiter?”
The boys gaped at each other. A Mr. Sandow had come to them! Just when they were working out a scheme to get into the Sandow Estate. But — who could this Mr. Sandow be?
“Miss Sandow lives alone!” Bob remembered.
“Come on, fellows,” Jupiter said, leading the way through Tunnel Two, into his workshop and the salvage yard.
 
6
Jupiter Reveals a Deception
“Well, there you are!”
Aunt Mathilda surveyed the boys with a severe expression. “Sometimes I think this salvage yard was built just for you three to hide in!”
A tall, slender boy only a few years older than the three friends stood beside Aunt Mathilda. His dark hair was rather long, and his grey suit had a slim, foreign cut. He grinned at the boys and held out his hand:
“Hello, chaps, I’m Ted Sandow.”
Concealing their intense curiosity at the coincidence of Ted Sandow’s appearance in the salvage yard, the boys all shook hands with him, and Jupiter assumed his most innocent manner.
“I’m Jupiter Jones.” The First Investigator introduced himself. “And this is Bob Andrews and Pete Crenshaw.”
“I say, I’m pleased to meet you fellows.” Ted beamed at the boys. “Friend of yours told me you were most interesting to get to know. Chap named Skinner Norris.”
“Skinny Norris sent you?” Pete blurted out, amazed.
“Said I’d find you unusual, to be exact. Are you unusual? I’m most eager to meet some unusual American boys. Haven’t had much chance, you see, out there on the estate.”
“You’re not American, Ted, are you?” Bob asked.
“I’m from England — Cambridge, to be exact. I’m visiting my Great- Aunt Sarah at the Sandow Estate. Actually, I didn’t know I had a great-aunt until my father died a few months ago! My grandfather, Aunt Sarah’s brother, was killed in France before my father was born. Apparently, my father got in touch with Aunt Sarah when he realized that he didn’t have long to live. She sent a note, and here I am.”
The tall boy grinned the whole time he was talking. Ted was obviously an eager talker. He spoke very fast, and his accent was not easy to follow. Before the boys could speak, he was off again:
“Well, Aunt Sarah has this barn full of old junk from years ago. She’s decided to spring-clean and needs it all carted away. I suggested she sell it to a salvage man. She thought it a capital idea and charged me with locating one. I saw the name of your yard, but I don’t know your city, so I contacted Aunt Sarah’s lawyer. He lives here, so he told me to see the son of a friend of his, Skinner Norris. I did, and Norris brought me here. He refused to come in himself. Rather odd, I thought.”
Before the boys had a chance to tell Ted that it wasn’t at all odd that Skinny wouldn’t come into the salvage yard, Aunt Mathilda spoke up. Her sharp eyes had shown great interest at the first mention of a barn full of old junk.
“We’d be glad to look at what your aunt has, Ted. When would you want us to come?”
“Now would be excellent,” Ted declared.
Aunt Mathilda shook her head. “My husband, Titus, is away at the moment. I’m afraid I can’t leave the yard untended. Of course, Jupiter knows what we buy as well as I do. He could go out there after he has his lunch.”
“Why don’t all you boys come?” Ted said quickly.
“Konrad could drive us in the small truck,” Jupiter suggested.
“I say, that would be wonderful!” Ted exclaimed. “The boys and I could talk. I’ve learned so little about America.”
Aunt Mathilda, who was always on the look-out for items for the yard, was soon persuaded. The boys ate quickly, then located Konrad. In a very short time they were all in the truck, following Ted’s small sports car. Ted had looked for Skinny Norris to thank him, but Skinny was nowhere in sight. He had vanished completely. This surprised the English boy, but it didn’t surprise the investigators at all.
“I wonder what Skinny’s up to?” Pete said in the truck.
“One of his usual attempts to confound us, I presume,” Jupiter answered. “I’m not worried about Skinny. But I am wondering why Ted happened to show up at the salvage yard the day after you fellows picked up that amulet.”
“You think he knows we found the amulet, but doesn’t know it was stolen from us?” Bob asked.
“Gosh!” Pete said. “That would mean there’s more than one group mixed up in this!”
“Or perhaps he knows the message was removed from the amulet, and wants to get hold of it,” Jupiter suggested.
“Gee,” Bob protested, “he seems like too nice a fellow, Jupe.”
“Perhaps it is only a coincidence,” Jupiter conceded, “but I suggest we be alert, watch what we say, and keep our eyes open.”
Bob and Pete agreed quickly. Meanwhile the truck, which was out of Rocky Beach by now, followed Ted Sandow’s sports car into the mountains. They drove up the winding road to the top of the pass and soon turned in at the big iron gates of the Sandow Estate, where Bob and Pete had heard the laughing shadow the previous night.
Beyond the gates and the high wall, they drove along a narrow macadam road for about half a mile until they saw the Sandow house. It was a big, Spanish-style house with white walls and a red-tile roof. There were bars on many windows and small balconies in front of some on the second floor. But the white walls were cracked and dingy, and the whole house looked badly neglected.
Ted led them directly to a low, brick barn behind the house. Inside, they found a great jumble of furniture, bric-a-brac, household items of the past, and some things they could not even name. There was so much dust on everything that it seemed as if nothing had been touched for at least fifty years.
“Aunt Sarah seems to have been something of a hermit, chaps,” Ted observed. “I’m sure she has no idea what’s here.”
Jupiter, who loved old junk as much as his Uncle Titus, looked at the mounds of forgotten relics in awe. “It’s a bonanza! Look at that spinning wheel! And that old lap writing desk for travellers.”
For an hour the boys picked happily over the great, dusty piles, completely forgetting the amulet, the Chumash Hoard, and the weird laughing shadow. Then, at last, Jupiter gave up and stood back looking at the piles.
“Uncle Titus is going to want just about all of it, and we haven’t even made a dent.”
“Why not come up to the house, then,” Ted suggested. “We’ll have some lemonade and biscuits, and you can talk to Aunt Sarah.”
Bob and Pete, remembering their real reason for wanting to come to the Sandow Estate, nodded quickly and looked at Jupiter. This was just what they wanted, but no one would have guessed it from seeing Jupiter’s impassive face.
“That sounds fine, Ted,” the First Investigator agreed. “Konrad can start making a partial list of what’s here.”
“I’ll send a beer out for him,” Ted said.
“A beer is good.” The Bavarian grinned.
Inside the big, house, the boys were taken into a cool, informal room with dark, antique Spanish furniture. Ted went to ask the maid to bring the lemonade. When he came back, he was with a bird-like woman whose hands fluttered up to her neat white hair. Her pale eyes lit up with pleasure.