Read Online Encyclopedia Brown Gets His Man by Donald J. Sobol - Free Book Online
Authors: Donald J. Sobol
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The Case of the Marble Shooter
Now it happens that in America some people break the law.
Many get caught, but a few get away.
This was not true in Idaville.
In Idaville everyone who broke the law got caught.
Aside from catching crooks one—two—three, Idaville was like any other American town its size. It had banks, movie theaters, and delicatessens. It had rich families, poor families, and several miles of sunny beach.
And for its war on crime, Idaville had Encyclopedia Brown.
Encyclopedia’s father was Chief Brown, head of the Idaville police force. People from everywhere 4 agreed that he was the smartest police officer in the land.
Chief Brown never let out the reason for his success. If he did, who would believe him?
Who would believe that the real brains behind Idaville’s wonderful police record was his quiet, ten-year-old son?
For a year now Chief Brown had been bringing home his hardest cases. Encyclopedia solved them while eating dinner in the Brown’s red brick house on Rover Avenue.
Since Encyclopedia had taken to matching wits with criminals, the word had raced through the underworld: “ Stay clear of Idaville. ”
Idaville! Big-time gunmen trembled at the mere mention of the town!
Encyclopedia never told anyone about the help he gave his father. He didn’t want to seem different from other fifth-graders.
But he could do nothing about his nickname.
Only his parents and teachers called him by his right name, Leroy. Everyone else in Idaville called him Encyclopedia.
An encyclopedia is a book or set of books filled with facts from A to Z. Encyclopedia Brown knew about the American Automobile Association, the Zanzibar Zipper Company, and everything in between. He had read more books than Miss Babcock, the principal of the Idaville grammar school.
Encyclopedia did not solve mysteries just in the dining room. During the summer he often solved them in the garage.
He wanted to help the children of the neighborhood. So he had opened his own detective business.
Outside the garage each morning he hung a sign:
One day a boy walked into the garage. He dropped to one knee before Idaville’s only private detective.
“Goodness,” thought Encyclopedia. “I haven’t been that successful!”
The boy wasn’t doing homage, however. He was aiming. With a snap of his thumb he spun a quarter through the air. It landed on the gasoline can beside Encyclopedia.
“You’ve got a hot thumb,” said Encyclopedia. “You’ve got the hottest thumb I’ve ever seen.”
“I want to hire you,” said the boy. “My name is Algernon Kehoe. Some big kid just made off with Minnie and Moocher.”
“Kidnapped them?” exclaimed Encyclopedia. “Didn’t they shout for help?”
“No, but they clinked a little,” said Algernon glumly.
Encyclopedia couldn’t imagine why two girls should dress in anything that clinked, like two knights or a pair of dice.
“It’s months too early for Halloween,” he thought.
The case was a puzzler, all right.
“Describe the missing persons, please,” he said.
“Minnie has two red stripes across the middle,” began Algernon. “Moocher has—wait! They’re not missing persons. They’re missing marbles.”
Algernon explained. Minnie and Moocher were his best shooters. He had been practicing marbles by himself when a big kid had come along and challenged him to a match.
“For fair or for keeps?” asked Encyclopedia.
“For keeps,” answered Algernon.
“He beat you?”
“I beat him,” said Algernon. “I won all his marbles. He got sore and took Minnie and Moocher, and all my other marbles.”
“You didn’t try to stop him?”
“Of course I tried,” said Algernon. “I said I’d tweek him, but a bunch of his friends appeared. They asked who I was, and the big kid said, ‘Who? I don’t see anyone.’ But I noticed he closed his eyes just before he spoke.”
“Hmmm,” said Encyclopedia. “How was he dressed?”
“He wore a sweatshirt with
Now it happens that in America some people break the law.
Many get caught, but a few get away.
This was not true in Idaville.
In Idaville everyone who broke the law got caught.
Aside from catching crooks one—two—three, Idaville was like any other American town its size. It had banks, movie theaters, and delicatessens. It had rich families, poor families, and several miles of sunny beach.
And for its war on crime, Idaville had Encyclopedia Brown.
Encyclopedia’s father was Chief Brown, head of the Idaville police force. People from everywhere 4 agreed that he was the smartest police officer in the land.
Chief Brown never let out the reason for his success. If he did, who would believe him?
Who would believe that the real brains behind Idaville’s wonderful police record was his quiet, ten-year-old son?
For a year now Chief Brown had been bringing home his hardest cases. Encyclopedia solved them while eating dinner in the Brown’s red brick house on Rover Avenue.
Since Encyclopedia had taken to matching wits with criminals, the word had raced through the underworld: “ Stay clear of Idaville. ”
Idaville! Big-time gunmen trembled at the mere mention of the town!
Encyclopedia never told anyone about the help he gave his father. He didn’t want to seem different from other fifth-graders.
But he could do nothing about his nickname.
Only his parents and teachers called him by his right name, Leroy. Everyone else in Idaville called him Encyclopedia.
An encyclopedia is a book or set of books filled with facts from A to Z. Encyclopedia Brown knew about the American Automobile Association, the Zanzibar Zipper Company, and everything in between. He had read more books than Miss Babcock, the principal of the Idaville grammar school.
Encyclopedia did not solve mysteries just in the dining room. During the summer he often solved them in the garage.
He wanted to help the children of the neighborhood. So he had opened his own detective business.
Outside the garage each morning he hung a sign:
One day a boy walked into the garage. He dropped to one knee before Idaville’s only private detective.
“Goodness,” thought Encyclopedia. “I haven’t been that successful!”
The boy wasn’t doing homage, however. He was aiming. With a snap of his thumb he spun a quarter through the air. It landed on the gasoline can beside Encyclopedia.
“You’ve got a hot thumb,” said Encyclopedia. “You’ve got the hottest thumb I’ve ever seen.”
“I want to hire you,” said the boy. “My name is Algernon Kehoe. Some big kid just made off with Minnie and Moocher.”
“Kidnapped them?” exclaimed Encyclopedia. “Didn’t they shout for help?”
“No, but they clinked a little,” said Algernon glumly.
Encyclopedia couldn’t imagine why two girls should dress in anything that clinked, like two knights or a pair of dice.
“It’s months too early for Halloween,” he thought.
The case was a puzzler, all right.
“Describe the missing persons, please,” he said.
“Minnie has two red stripes across the middle,” began Algernon. “Moocher has—wait! They’re not missing persons. They’re missing marbles.”
Algernon explained. Minnie and Moocher were his best shooters. He had been practicing marbles by himself when a big kid had come along and challenged him to a match.
“For fair or for keeps?” asked Encyclopedia.
“For keeps,” answered Algernon.
“He beat you?”
“I beat him,” said Algernon. “I won all his marbles. He got sore and took Minnie and Moocher, and all my other marbles.”
“You didn’t try to stop him?”
“Of course I tried,” said Algernon. “I said I’d tweek him, but a bunch of his friends appeared. They asked who I was, and the big kid said, ‘Who? I don’t see anyone.’ But I noticed he closed his eyes just before he spoke.”
“Hmmm,” said Encyclopedia. “How was he dressed?”
“He wore a sweatshirt with
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