Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Carnival Crime (7 page)

Solution to The Case of the Arrowhead Hunters

 

Encyclopedia noted that while all three campers had similar alibis, two of them, Jack Muir and Teddy Rose, were sitting by smoky fires. That indicated that the wood they were using was wet—which made sense because it was raining when they gathered it. However, Frank Donner's fire was burning brightly, which meant his wood was dry. That only was possible if he had gotten his wood before it rained and put it in his tent. Then he stole the arrowheads while the others were gathering their wood. When told this fact, Frank admitted he had taken the arrowheads, and he returned them and added three more that he had found.

Solution to The Case of the Courageous Camper

 

The story of Buster's cousin was certainly exciting, and it sounded possible until Buster explained that his cousin had turned his compass until it pointed east. Encyclopedia knew that compasses always point north toward the magnetic North Pole. Once Encyclopedia realized that part of the story was wrong, he had doubts about the rest of the story as well. Under further questioning, Buster owned up that he had invented the whole thing. The only cousin he had lived in a skyscraper in a big city.

Solution to The Case of the Carnival Crime

 

Dexter had explained that he had won the medal using a rifle—the only kind of gun used at a shooting gallery. But when Max was bragging about his aim, he mentioned using six-shooters. Six-shooters are pistols, and there are none of those available at a shooting gallery. When Encyclopedia pointed this out, Max blinked a few times and admitted that maybe his aim was a little off. Then he gave the medal back to Dexter.