Encyclopedia Brown Shows the Way (7 page)

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Authors: Donald J. Sobol

BOOK: Encyclopedia Brown Shows the Way
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Solution to The Case of the Knockout Artist
Bugs wanted to get even with Sally for licking him. So he tried to match her against his cousin, Bearcat.
He had Ike go to the detective agency with a fake story. Ike said Bugs owed him two dollars.
To get Sally angry enough to fight Bearcat, Ike claimed that Bearcat had said he fought no better than a girl.
But Ike got carried away with his role. He said he had hurt his hands on Bearcat’s head. He couldn’t even reach into his pocket and get a quarter.
Later, however, he helped lace up Sally’s gloves.
He had forgotten his hands were supposed to be too sore!
But Encyclopedia hadn’t.
Solution to The Case of the Headless Runner
From behind some bushes, Duke had thrown a rock at the door light—just as the lightning flashed.
The street lit up, and he saw Encyclopedia and Charlie approaching. He was afraid they might see him hiding or running back to his house.
So he made up a story. He had been awakened by the thunder. Then, in the flash of lightning, he had seen two boys break the door light. He had grabbed his shirt and given chase.
Impossible! Thunder comes
after,
not
before,
lightning. When the thunder roared, the lightning had already passed. Duke could have seen only darkness if the thunder had awakened him.
He was taking off his shirt as he ran toward Encyclopedia and Charlie, pretending to be
putting it on,
to make it look as if he had left his house in a hurry.
Thanks to Encyclopedia, Duke quit breaking lights in the neighborhood.
Solution to The Case of the Reward Money
Wilford read about the armored-truck holdup in the newspaper. So he decided to try for some easy money.
He made up a story:
The loudspeaker in the bus station told the people to be on the watch for the robber, a red-haired man. Then his friend Jim Baker spotted the man on the bus.
The story was good, but not good enough.
If Jim had not heard the loudspeaker, he could not have linked the red-haired man to the armored-truck robbery.
And Jim couldn’t hear the loudspeaker.
Because Jim was deaf!
Thanks to Encyclopedia, Wilford did not get any money from the children.
Solution to The Case of the Tooth Puller
The real thief was Hank Ives, the magician.
He had pushed over the pole in the office tent. During the confusion, he stole a role of tickets.
When Phineas ran over to help, leaving his booth empty, Hank hid the tickets in the pool table.
Hank never meant to try out for the amateur show. He couldn’t. So he made believe he had stage fright and left the auditorium before he was called upon to perform.
He might have got away with framing Phineas -but for Encyclopedia. The detective spotted him in the parade.
All magicians pull things out of their sleeves. So they must wear long sleeves.
But Hank wore short sleeves!
Solution to The Case of the Girl Shortstop
Warren, the pitcher.
The sunglasses that Edwina found were not scratched. Yet the ear piece on the right side was bent outward.
Thus Encyclopedia knew the wearer was left-handed. He had used his left hand to pull off the glasses, causing the right ear piece to become bent outward as it pushed against his head.
Had the wearer used his right hand, the left ear piece would have become bent outward.
So the boy who didn’t want a girl on the team was a lefty. Warren was the only lefty on the team, remember?
When seen after the game, Warren had a bloody nose.
“He confessed,” Edwina announced sweetly.
Solution to The Case of the Rattlesnake’s Rattle
At a quarter to three, Esmond said to Chester, “I’d better get home ...”
Encyclopedia knew Esmond had said that only to make Chester think he was leaving.
Esmond didn’t go home. He went out of the museum and then slipped back and stole the rattlesnake’s rattle.
Just before three o’clock, Aunt Wanda had cut Chester a piece of cake. The
first
piece.
Esmond was supposed to be home by then. Yet he knew the cake had seven layers!
He couldn’t have known that unless he was in the museum and had seen Aunt Wanda cut the first slice.
Trapped by his own words, Esmond returned the rattle.
Solution to The Case of the World Traveler
Justin’s mistake was in overlooking Encyclopedia, who spotted the following errors in his “true” adventures.
1. Roosters cannot be cross-eyed. Their eyes are on the opposite sides of their heads.
2. Pigs cannot look up at an airplane flying above them. Pigs cannot raise their heads.
3. There are no wild tigers in Africa. Tigers are Asian animals.
4. Giraffes, like cows and other cud-chewing animals, get up back legs first, not front legs first.
5. George, a male kangaroo, could not have a pouch. Only female kangaroos have pouches.
6. Owls’ eyes are fixed and cannot move; also, because of their soft wings, owls make no noise while flying.
Solution to The Case of the Lady Ghost
Otto said that the ghost’s long white gown had dragged over the sand behind her.
But it should have blown in the wind like her veil—unless it was weighted down. That was the clue!
Barney Slade had to wipe out his footprints in the sand. So he had gotten out his wife’s old wedding dress and fixed her up to look like Jennifer MacIntosh. He had fixed a heavy board to the end of the dress’s train.
As she walked along the beach, the board not only wiped away her own footprints, but Barney Slade’s as well. When she reached the getaway car, she drove it to another hiding place.
Barney Slade was arrested and confessed. He had thought no one would believe what Otto had seen.
But he had not counted on Encyclopedia’s quick brain to figure out his trick.

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