Three Investigators - The Curse of the Mysterious Traveler, page 4
He held out his hand before them, the paw resting atop the deep creases of his palm.
Bob, Pete, and Allie gasped in astonishment. When they had brought the paw, its fingers were curled down as if in a fist. But now the small fingers had straightened.
The paw had opened!
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Chapter Seven
The Word is Revealed
“GOOD GRIEF!” said Pete. “The paw opened!”
The old Gypsy nodded and breathed deeply, as if the incantation had taken all his strength.
“See the word,” he gasped. “Meditate on its meaning, and perhaps you can understand what my son was trying to tell me. Our family fortune is hidden so well that even we cannot find it. We have searched for many years, but it has taken the thievery of the scoundrel Jujab to lead us to you.”
Bob, Pete, and Allie sat up and peered at the shriveled monkey’s paw that rested in the old man’s hand. Its tiny fingers were now straight, the word that was printed on it in scraggily letters read:
DAEDALUS 3 RD
“I don’t get it,” said Allie. “What does ‘daedalus’ mean? Is it a foreign word or something?”
Gregorio shook his head. “It is not a Gypsy word. Julius knew no languages other than English and our own Gypsy tongue. I’m afraid this word is meaningless to me. What my son was trying to tell me remains shrouded in mystery. He died here in Rocky Beach; I thought ‘3 RD’ perhaps meant a road, but that is all that I can tell you.”
Bob copied the word down in his notebook.
“Leave it to The Three Investigators, sir,” he said, trying to sound more hopeful than he really felt. “If anyone can figure out what that word means, it’s Jupiter Jones!”
“I’ll buy a double helping of that!” agreed Pete. “Jupe’s brain works like a super computer.”
“But instead of electricity, he runs on food,” Allie laughed.
40 The Curse of the Mysterious Traveler When the three youths arrived back at the salvage yard, Jupiter and Aunt Mathilda were just pulling through the gates in the small truck. Jupiter climbed out gingerly. He was wearing a sling and his right arm was encased in a cast from his knuckles to the middle of his forearm.
Seeing his friends, Jupe’s face brightened. He began heading in the direction of his workshop, but was immediately cornered by his aunt.
“You’re to go straight to bed, young man!” she said sternly.
“There’ll be no foolishness with that club of yours until that arm heals properly.”
“But Aunt Mathilda…” he protested.
It was no use. When Mrs. Jones made up her mind there was no point in arguing. She sized up Pete, Bob, and Allie.
“There will be no ifs, ands, or buts! I’m out one perfectly good worker. Allie will just have to pitch in while you mend. Bob, Pete
– there’s a whole shipment of pickle barrels that Titus just purchased waiting to be scrubbed and stored. Allie, you can grab a clipboard and catalogue.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Allie said politely. “I’d be glad to.”
Bob and Pete looked at each other helplessly. If there was one thing that Aunt Mathilda excelled at, it was finding lazy kids and putting them to work! She marched Jupiter to their house, wondering how in the world she was expected to sell a bunch of barrels that smelled like pickles.
The three had just begun to work when Pete noticed a flashing light coming from an upstairs window of the Joneses house.
“What in the world is that?” he wondered.
“It’s Jupe!” Bob grinned. “He’s giving us a message with Morse code.” Bob watched the flashes of light as they flickered on and off. He grabbed his notebook and copied down the letters of his partner’s message. When the flashes had stopped, he showed the message to Allie and Pete.
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The message said:
Blue Gate Two what’s the clue?
Bob knew the coded message meant that they should meet Jupe at the secret entrance in the salvage yard’s fence called Blue Gate Two so they could tell him what the word on the paw said.
Blue Gate Two had got its name from the scene of a lake painted on the boards. A group of picnicking women in old fashioned dresses and parasols watched their children play near a pond. The blue of the water and the sky gave the gate its name.
When a rope handle that was buried in the grass was pulled, two boards swung up. This entrance was closest to the Joneses house and to the front office of the salvage yard – which meant it was usually closest to Aunt Mathilda. That’s why they didn’t use it very often. But since his aunt was currently preparing dinner, Jupe took the opportunity to climb down the lattice outside his window and meet his partners at the secret entrance.
“You mean you fellows have more than one secret gate in that crazy fence?” Allie asked slyly. “I wonder what else I could find around this junk yard if I really tried.”
“You already know too much for your own good,” Pete said in exasperation. “We’ll have to bury Headquarters underground before long, just to keep you from snooping!”
Keeping an eye out for Mrs. Jones, the three hurried over to the secret gate and pulled it open. Jupiter stepped through, still huffing and puffing from his awkward climb down the lattice.
“That’s hard enough with two hands,” he panted. “Let’s make this quick – my aunt has a sixth sense for lackadaisical kids. Give me a brief overview of the events at the fairgrounds, and what the hidden word is.”
Bob pulled out his notebook and neatly summed up Gregorio’s story. He then showed Jupe the hidden word.
“Daedalus 3 – R - D,” he murmured. He started to raise his right hand to pinch his lip, realized it was in a cast, and used his
42 The Curse of the Mysterious Traveler left hand instead.
“Okay, Sherlock,” Allie grinned, “let’s see if your fall affect-ed your gray matter. Is this some kind of foreign word? That old Gypsy said it meant zip to him.”
While Jupiter Jones was not exactly fat, he had always been on the slightly chubby side since birth. When he was just a child he acted on a short-lived television program – his character’s name was ‘Baby Fatso.’ Naturally, some of the meaner kids at school had teased him quite a bit about this chapter in his life. To make up for it, Jupe had read every book he could get his hands on. And, since his mind was practically photographic, he never forgot a single word. With this vast storehouse of knowledge, he was able to recall even the most obscure of facts.
“If I am not mistaken,” Jupiter began stuffily, as if he were a professor lecturing a classroom full of students, “Daedalus is a character in Greek mythology. According to legend, he was an inventor of great renown. He is most famous for building the wings that helped him and his son, Icarus, escape from prison on the island of Minos. As you recall, Icarus grew bold from the thrill of flight and ignored his father’s warning about flying too close to the sun. The heat of the sun melted the wax on the wings and Icarus plunged to his death in the sea.”
Allie shrugged her shoulders. “So, what does that tell us? The word is still Greek to me!”
Pete groaned at her lame joke. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but for once I agree with her.”
Bob was still thinking about the strange Greek name.
“Julius wouldn’t have written that word on the paw unless he was sure that his father, Gregorio, would understand its meaning,” he said.
“That much is certain,” Jupiter agreed. “But Gregorio has stat-ed that the name Daedalus is meaningless to him.”
“Uh-oh,” Pete warned, “your Uncle Titus is coming down the
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street in the big truck. You better get back inside, Jupe, before your aunt catches you out of your room!”
Jupe scowled. He wanted desperately to tackle the mystery head on, but he also didn’t want to tempt the wrath of his aunt!
“Perhaps we should all mull over Julius’ message at home tonight. We’ll get a fresh start on the mystery tomorrow. Now I must depart the premises before my absence from the house is detected. Meet here tomorrow!”
“I’ll be here first thing in the morning!” Allie cried. “I have to run now. Indian Queen needs brushing. See you fellows later!”
Bob and Pete watched as Allie strolled through the front gate, waved at Uncle Titus, and then disappeared around the corner. It was only then that they realized she had left them in the middle of their pickle barrel assignment!
“Hey! How did she get out of work?” Pete cried.
Bob spotted the heaping stack of junk in the back of Titus’s truck and moaned.
“How are we going to get out of that?”
It was quite late by the time Bob and Pete had helped unload the big truck. When the work was done, they bicycled for home, riding part of the way together, and then heading in the direction of their own homes.
When Bob arrived at his house, he found a plate of dinner waiting for him in the refrigerator. Mrs. Andrews was quite used to her son’s irregular eating habits – particularly during the summer months. Bob ate at Jupiter’s house as often as he ate at his own! When he finished, he found his father quietly reading a newspaper in the den.
“Good evening, son,” Mr. Andrews said. Being a reporter for one of Los Angeles’ biggest newspapers, Bob’s father often took a keen interest in the adventures of The Three Investigators. He put his paper down and lit his pipe.
“Are The Three Investigators involved in a case?”
44 The Curse of the Mysterious Traveler Bob nodded and began explaining all that had happened with the arrival of the mysterious traveler, Jujab; the monkey’s paw; the Gypsy’s; and the strange message written inside the paw.
“Daedalus,” his father said thoughtfully. “I believe he was a character from Greek mythology. An inventor of some sort. Made wings for Icarus if I remember my old school lessons correctly.”
“That’s what Jupiter said, too,” Bob sighed. “But the name doesn’t mean anything to Gregorio. We’re sure his son assumed the old Gypsy would understand its meaning.”
Mr. Andrews rubbed his chin and then picked up his newspaper once more. Bob sat quietly, pondering what the name might mean, when his father spoke up again.
“Of course, the character of Daedalus invented more than just the wings for his son. He was also famous for designing a huge maze known as the labyrinth that was home to the Minotaur. A monster that was half man and half bull.”
Bob sat up straight, intrigued by this new information. Jupiter hadn’t mentioned anything about a maze! But what his father said next made him positively jump from his chair as if stung by a bee!
“There used to be a Labyrinth Park here in Rocky Beach years and years ago – before you were born, son,” Mr. Andrews said, almost as an afterthought.
“It was renamed for an important philanthropist about fifteen years ago – but it wasn’t on a ‘Third Road.’ Your mother and I took you there when you were just a youngster. There used to be a small hedge maze for kids in the center of the park. But you’re much too big for the maze now. You’d probably see right over the tops of the bushes – if it’s still there, that is.”
His father chuckled and relit his pipe. “At the center of the maze was a big, ugly bronze statue of the minotaur – used to scare the dickens out of you!”
Bob stared at his father, wide-eyed. “Would you excuse me, dad?” he gasped. “I’ve got to make an important phone call!”
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Chapter Eight
A Walk in the Park
“OF COURSE!” Jupiter said excitedly. “That must have been what Julius was trying to say!”
Jupe had nearly dropped the telephone when Bob had called to relay the information about the park. When they had hung up, he mentally kicked himself for not figuring it out himself. If there was one thing Jupiter Jones hated, it was being beaten to a clue!
Now that they had a solid lead, Jupiter was anxious to get to the park with the hedge maze as soon as possible.
However, Aunt Mathilda had other ideas. The whole next day she watched Jupe like a hawk. And, with Bob’s part-time job at the library, and Pete’s baseball practice, two days passed before they were able to gather in Headquarters for a meeting. Jupe was just about to call the meeting to order when Allie’s head popped up through Tunnel Two’s trap door.
“I knew I’d find you guys in here,” she grinned. “I hope you weren’t starting without me!”
Jupiter looked at her distastefully. “We really need to install a lock on that door.”
He rapped his knuckles on the desk and called the meeting to order.
“Since Aunt Mathilda hasn’t let me out of her sight in the past two days, we need to seize any opportunity to get out of her line of vision. Fortunately, that opportunity is this evening! I over-heard Uncle Titus telling Hans that he and Aunt Mathilda are going to their bridge club tonight. That should give us several hours to conduct a thorough search of the statue.”
“But what about Jujab?” Pete said shakily. “What if we run into him? I sure don’t want to be the one to come between him and his knife!”
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“Pete has a point,” agreed Bob. “Besides, I asked Miss Bennett at the library about Daedalus Park. According to her it’s located in a run-down section of Rocky Beach. She said you wouldn’t catch her there after dark!”
“That’s what I love about librarians;” said Pete, “they’re full of good, common sense!”
“You can count me in!” Allie said bravely, making a fist. “Just let that weirdo try anything funny. I’ll knock him straight into next week!”
Jupiter leaned back in his chair, thinking hard. After a moment he sat up straight. “I’m not sure this Jujab character is all that he claims to be,” he declared.
“How so?” asked Allie.
Pete shrugged. “He sure looked authentic to me!”
Jupiter bridged his fingers; his round, owlish face gave them a shrewd look.
“That’s the trouble. By looking at him you would assume that he is very refined. He speaks intelligently and dresses exquisitely. And yet when we first met him I observed that he had bitten his fingernails ragged. Hardly a trait of someone as cultured as he claims to be!”
“So what?” Bob laughed. “Everyone has a few bad habits. I still say the guy is dangerous!”
“Perhaps,” Jupiter said loftily. “But you’ll also recall he addressed me as both Señor Jones and Monsieur Jones. Señor, of course, is Spanish. And Monsieur is French. That indicates to me that he is either fluent in several languages, and hence, a world traveler just as he claims – or that he is a fraud who doesn’t know French from Spanish!”
Several hours later, the three boys gathered outside the gates of the salvage yard. The sun was just setting and a cool fog was beginning to form low to the ground. They were beginning to
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wonder if Allie had gotten bored with detective work and had decided to stay home to watch television, when they saw her ride rather unsteadily up to the gates on an old fashioned bicycle.
“Good gravy!” Pete laughed. “Where in the world did you get that antique?”
“Go soak your head, Crenshaw!” Allie replied, sticking out her tongue at Pete. “It’s my Aunt Pat’s. She’s got three cars in her garage – but only one bicycle. I can’t help it if it’s a little outdat-ed.”
“Outdated is hardly the word,” Bob chuckled. “Carbon dated is more like it!”
“Laugh it up all you want,” Allie shot back. “At least I’m not the scaredy-cat who’s afraid of Jujab!”
Jupiter cleared his throat. “We had better get going. The sun will be down in an hour.” He looked at Allie with a mischievous grin. “And for goodness sakes, try to keep up on that relic!”
Miss Bennett, the librarian, hadn’t been exaggerating about the section of town the park was located in. While at his job, Bob had looked up city maps of the area and had learned that the neighborhood was slated for major renovation in the coming months. However, for the moment, it was run-down and practically deserted.
Gray, sagging buildings lined the pot-holed streets; and weeds grew near the weary sidewalks. As they rode their bicycles down the barren avenues, Pete gulped and pointed out that most of the street lights were burned out.
When they reached Daedalus Park, now renamed Philip Fulmer Park, they observed its condition wasn’t any better. A broken slide and seesaws stood deserted in the fading light. Nearby was a bent swing set, its swings swaying eerily in the cool evening breeze. A canopy of trees crowded over their heads, blocking out most of the remaining rays of sunlight.
“Come on,” Jupiter commanded, pedaling his bicycle through
48 The Curse of the Mysterious Traveler the fog. “The hedge maze should be just up here.”
Bob and Pete followed close behind Jupe, while Allie pedaled furiously trying to keep up.
“Wait up, you guys!” she hissed. She didn’t know why she was whispering – it just seemed appropriate somehow in such a spooky place.
When they reached the hedge maze, they parked their bicycles and stepped up to the overgrown entrance.
“Creeps!” Pete shuddered. “This place would give me the willies in the daytime!”
“No kidding,” Allie agreed. “No parent in their right mind would let their kids play in this park.”
“I can see the statue ahead,” said Jupiter, clicking on a flashlight. “It should be in the exact center of the maze. Watch your step, though. The hedge is overgrown and tangled. There might be branches obstructing the path.”
As they shuffled along the unpleasant walkway, each following closely behind the other, strange sounds seemed to fill the air.
