Mystery of the Invisible Thief (3 page)

She paused and looked at the others, gratified to see their intense interest.

“Very very brave of you,” said Fatty. “What happened next?”

“Well - I suddenly sees a ladder outside,” said Jinny, enjoying herself thoroughly. “The gardener’s ladder, it looked like - run up against the wall leading to the Mistress’s bedroom. And I thinks to myself, ‘Aha! Mister Robber, whoever you are, I’ll see you coming down that ladder! I’ll take good notice of you too! If you’ve got a bunion on your toe I’ll notice it, and if you’ve got a squint in your eye I’ll know you again!’ I know how important it is to notice what you can, you see.”

“Quite right,” said Fatty approvingly. “And what was the robber like?”

“I don’t know,” said Jinny, and she suddenly looked bewildered. “He never came down that ladder after all!”

There was a pause. “Well - how did he leave the house then?” asked Fatty. “Did you hear him?”

“Never a sound,” said Jinny. “I was standing in the hall, so I know he didn’t come down the stairs - and there’s only one set of stairs in this house. And there I stood, shivering and shaking I don’t mind telling you - till I see the telephone staring me in the face. And I grabs it and phones the police!”

“Go on,” said Fatty. “What happened to the burglar? Was he still upstairs?”

“Well, just as I finished telephoning, who should come along but the baker and I yells to him, ‘Here you, come here and go upstairs with me. There’s a burglar in the house.’ And the baker - he’s a very very brave man for all he’s so small - he came in and we went into every single room, and not a person was there. Not one!”

“He must have got out of another window,” said Fatty at last.

“He couldn’t!” said Jinny triumphantly. “They were all either shut and fastened, or there’s a steep drop to the ground, enough to kill anyone taking a jump. I tell you, he had to come down the stairs or get down the ladder - and he didn’t do either! There’s a puzzle for you!”

“Well, he must still be there then,” said Fatty and Hilary gave a scream.

“He’s not,” said Jinny. “The Inspector, he looked into every hole and corner, even in the chest in your Ma’s room, Miss Hilary. I tell you what I think - he made himself invisible! Oh, laugh if you like - but how else could he have got away without me seeing him?”

Plenty of Clues

Fatty asked Jinny a great many questions, and she seemed very pleased to answer them. Hilary got bored. “Come on upstairs and see my riding prizes,” she said. “Jinny, those didn’t get stolen, did they?”

“No, Miss Hilary dear - not one of them!” said Jinny comfortingly. “I went to look, knowing as how you set such store on them. It’s things like your Ma’s little silver clock and some of the jewellery she left behind, and your father’s cigarette box that have gone. All things from the bedrooms - nothing from downstairs that I can see.”

“Come on, Bets,” said Hilary, pulling Bets out of the room. “Let’s go upstairs. You come too, Fatty.”

Fatty was only too pleased. Hilary ran on ahead up the stairs. Fatty had a chance to whisper to Bets.

“You must pretend to be awfully interested, Bets, see? That will give me a chance to slip away and have a snoop round.”

Bets nodded. She was bored with the horsey little Hilary, but she would do anything for Fatty. They all went upstairs. Hilary took them into her little room. Bets was quite astonished to see the array of cups and other prizes she had won. She began to ask all kinds of questions at once, so that Fatty might slip away.

“What did you win this cup for? What’s this? Why are there two cups exactly the same? What’s this printed on this cup?”

Hilary was only too anxious to tell her. Fatty grinned. He was soon able to slip away, with Buster trotting at his heels. He went into all the bedrooms. He noticed that in most of the rooms the windows were shut and fastened as Jinny had said. In Hilary’s parents’ room the window was open. Fatty went to it and looked out. A ladder led down from it to the ground.

“That must be the ladder Jinny saw through the hall window,” thought Fatty. “I saw it myself as we went to the stairs. How did that thief get down from upstairs without being seen, if Jinny didn’t see him come down the stairs or the ladder? He can’t be here still, because the stolen goods are gone - and anyway the place must have been thoroughly searched by the Inspector and Tonks.” He went to see if there was any other window or balcony the thief could have dropped from unseen. But there wasn’t.

Fatty concentrated his attention on the room from which the goods had been stolen. There were large dirty finger-marks on the wall by the window. Fatty studied them with interest.

“The thief wore gloves - dirty gloves too,” he thought. “Well, he couldn’t have been a very expert thief, to leave his prints like that! I’d better measure them.”

He measured them. “Big-handed-fellow,” he said. “Takes at least size eight and a half in gloves, probably nines. Yes, must be nines, I should think. Hallo, he’s left his glove-prints here too - on the polished dressing-table.”

There were the same big prints again showing clearly. Fatty looked at them thoughtfully. It should be easy to pick out this thief - he really had very large hands.

He went to the window again. He leaned out over the top of the ladder. “He came up here by the ladder - didn’t bother about the lower part of the house - he chucked the stuff out of the window - where did it land? Over there on that bed, I suppose. I’ll go down and look. But yet he didn’t get down by the ladder? Why? Was he afraid of Jinny spotting him as he went down? He knew she was in the hall because he heard her shouting.”

Fatty pondered deeply. How in the world had the thief got away without being seen? It was true he could have slipped out of any of the other windows, but only by risking a broken leg, because there was such a steep drop to the ground - no ivy to cling to, no balcony to drop down to. Fatty went round the top part of the house again, feeling puzzled.

He came to a boxroom. It was very small, and had a tiny window, which was fast-shut. Fatty opened it and looked down. There was a thick pipe outside, running right down to the ground.

“Now - if the window had been open instead of shut - and if the thief had been even smaller than I am - so that he could have squeezed painfully out of this tiny window - he might have got down to the ground from here,” thought Fatty. “But the window’s shut - and Jinny says all of them were, except the one with the ladder, and a few that nobody could leap from.”

He went downstairs, hearing Hilary still talking soulfully about her cups. He couldn’t hear a word from Bets. Poor Bets! She really was a little brick.

“Who’s that?” called Jinny sharply, as she heard Fatty come down the stairs.

“Only me,” said Fatty. “Jinny, it’s a puzzle how that thief got away without being seen, isn’t it? Especially as he must have been rather a big fellow, judging from the size of his hands. I’ve been looking at all the windows. There’s only one that has a pipe running by it down to the ground - the one in the boxroom - a tiny window. Was that shut?”

“Oh yes,” said Jinny. “The Inspector asked me that same question, sir. He said he found it shut too. And you’re right - the thief couldn’t possibly have squeezed out of that small window, he’s too big. You should see his footprints out there on the bed - giant-size, I reckon!”

“I’ll go and see, if you don’t mind,” said Fatty. Jinny didn’t mind at all - she was only too pleased to let Fatty do anything - a nice, polite boy like that! You didn’t come across them every day, more’s the pity!

Fatty went out into the garden. He went to where the ladder was raised up against the house. He looked at the bed below. There were quite a lot of footprints there - certainly the thief had a large foot as well as large hands! “Wears a shoe about size eleven or twelve,” thought Fatty. “Hm! Where’s my measure?”

Fatty measured a print and recorded it in his notebook. He also made a note of the pattern of the rubber heel that the thief wore on his boots - it showed clearly in the prints.

Then he went to where the thief had thrown the stolen goods. They had been thrown well away from the ladder, and had fallen in a bush, and on the ground around. Fatty poked about to see if he could find anything. He felt sure he wouldn’t, because the Inspector had already been over the ground - and Fatty had a great respect for Inspector Jenks’ ability to discover any clue left lying about!

He came across a curious print - large, roundish, with crisscross lines showing here and there. What could the thief have thrown out that made that mark? He went to ask Jinny.

“Ah, the Inspector, he asked me that too,” she said. “And I couldn’t tell him. There was nothing big taken as far as I know, sir. I’ve seen the mark too - can’t think what made it! It’s a queer mark - roundish like that, and so big - big as my largest washing-up bowl!”

Fatty had measured the strange print and drawn it in his book, with the little crisscross marks on it here and there. Funny. What could it be? It must have something to do with the robbery.

He shut up his book. There was nothing more he could examine or find, he was sure of that. He was also sure that he hadn’t discovered anything that the Inspector hadn’t - probably he hadn’t discovered so much! If the Inspector had found anything interesting he would have taken it away. What a pity Fatty hadn’t been on the spot with him when he came with Tonks!

“It won’t be much of a mystery, I suppose,” thought Fatty, going upstairs with Buster to fetch Bets. “Surely a thief as large as this one will be easily found and caught. I shouldn’t be surprised if the Inspector hasn’t got him already!”

This was rather a disappointing thought. Fatty went into Hilary’s room and smiled when he saw poor Bets’ bored face. She smiled back delightedly at him.

“Oh, Fatty - is it time to go? Hilary has been telling me all about her prizes.”

“Yes,” said Hilary, looking pleased with herself. “Shall I tell you now, Fatty? See, this one was…”

“Oh, I’ve heard quite a lot, off and on,” said Fatty. “You’re wonderful, Hilary! To think you’ve won all those! You really must be proud.”

“Oh well - ” said Hilary, trying to look modest. “See this one I…”

Fatty looked at his watch and gave such a loud exclamation that Bets jumped and Hilary stopped, startled.

“Good gracious! Look at the time! I shall have to see your prizes another time, Hilary. Bets, I must take you home - you’ll get in an awful row if you’re any later.”

Hilary looked disappointed. She had been quite prepared to go over the whole history of her riding prizes once again. Bets was overjoyed to think Fatty was at last going to leave.

“Thanks awfully, Hilary, for giving me such a lovely time,” said Bets politely but not very truthfully. Fatty patted Hilary on the shoulder and said it had been a real pleasure to meet her. Hilary beamed.

She went down to the front gate with them, and waved till they were out of sight. Bets heaved a sigh of relief when they at last turned a corner and the waving could no longer be seen.

“Oh, Fatty - did you find out anything? Is it a mystery?” she asked eagerly. “Tell me!”

“I don’t somehow think it is,” said Fatty. “Just an ordinary little burglary, with one or two odd little touches - but I expect the Inspector and Tonks have got more information than I have, actually, as they were there first. I’ll go and see Tonks, I think. He might let out something.”

“Why not ask the Inspector?” said Bets, as they turned down the lane to her home.

“Er - no - I think no,” said Fatty. “I don’t particularly want him to know I snooped round after all. Tonks is the one to question. I’ll see him tomorrow. Tell Pip I’ll be round at eleven o’clock.”

He took Bets right up to the door of her house and said good night. “And thanks most awfully for doing your bit for me,” he said. “I know you were bored - but I couldn’t have gone without you and snooped round - you were a real help.”

“Then I don’t mind being bored,” said Bets. “Oh dear - I never want to hear about riding prizes again!”

Some Information From Tonks

Fatty went home and walked down to the shed at the bottom of the garden where he kept his most valuable possessions.

He cast an eye over the various chests and boxes in his closely-guarded shed. Here he kept his disguises - old clothes of various kinds, hats, boots and ragged scarves. Here was a box containing many curious things that he didn’t want his mother either to find or to throw away!

False teeth to put over his own - false cheek-pads to swell out his face - eyebrows of all colours - wigs that fitted him and wigs that didn’t - big and little moustaches. Oh, Fatty had a most interesting collection in this shed of his at the bottom of the garden!

He gazed at the array of belongings. “I’d like to do a spot of disguising,” he thought. “I will when Goon comes back. It’s not much fun doing it now unless there’s a mystery on, or Goon to deceive. Wonder when he’s coming back. I’ll ask Tonks tomorrow.”

He went to see Tonks the very next morning, about ten o’clock. Buster ran beside his bicycle. Fatty had decided he really was too fat for words - exercise would be good for him. So poor Buster panted beside the bicycle, his tongue lolling out first on one side of his mouth and then on the other.

Fatty knocked at the door. “Come in!” cried a voice and in went Fatty. He found Tonks poring over a sheaf of papers. The stolid policeman looked up and nodded.

“Ah - Master Frederick Trotteville, isn’t it? Great friend of the Inspector’s, aren’t you? He was telling me yesterday some of the things you’d done.”

This seemed a very good beginning. Fatty sat down. “I don’t know if you’re too busy to spare me a minute,” he said. “I took Miss Hilary home last night, she was so scared, poor little thing - you know, the Inspector’s goddaughter.”

“Oh - so that’s what he meant when he suddenly said ‘My word - Norton House - that’s Hilary’s home,’” said the policeman. “I didn’t like to ask him.”

“I expect he didn’t realize it was his goddaughter’s house that had been burgled, when he went off with you,” said Fatty. “Anyway, she was frightened and I took her home. I had a look round, of course - and I wondered if I’d found anything of use to you.”