Read Online Mystery of the Disappearing Cat by Enid Blyton - Free Book Online Page A

them.
    “Whoever went in there wore shoes with brown laces, that’s certain,” said Mr. Goon with great satisfaction. “And look at that there button — that’s come off somebody’s coat, that has.”
    “What’s this?” asked Mr. Tupping, showing Mr. Goon Pip’s peppermint drop. Mr. Goon sniffed at it
    “Peppermint!” he said. “Now, does that boy Luke suck peppermints?”
    “I expect so,” said Mr. Tupping. “Most boys eat sweets. But Luke don’t wear a hair-ribbon, Mr. Goon. And look, there’s another cigar-end — like the one you found under the house.”
    Mr. Goon soon lost his excitement over his finds, and became puzzled. He gazed at his clues in silence.
    “Judging by these here clues, the thief ought by rights to be someone that smokes cigars, wears blue hair-ribbons and blue buttons, sucks peppermint drops, and has brown laces in his shoes,” he said. “It don’t make sense.”
    Fatty was trying his hardest not to giggle out aloud. It was so funny seeing Mr. Goon and Mr. Tupping puzzle their heads over all the clues that the children had so carefully left for them to find. Mr. Goon cautiously licked the peppermint drop.
    “Yes; it’s peppermint right enough,” he said. “Well, this is a fair puzzler — finding all these dues, and nobody we can fit them to, so to speak. You finding anything else, Mr. Tupping?”
    Mr. Tupping had gone into the cat-house, and was looking all round it again very, very carefully.
    “Just looking to see if there’s any clue we’ve overlooked,” he said. But he couldn’t seem to find anything else, however hard he hunted. He came out again, looking rather untidy and cross.
    “Well, there don’t seem much else to be found,” he said, sounding very disappointed. “I’m sure you’ll find it’s that boy Luke, Mr. Goon, that’s the thief. These clues can’t be clues — just things that got into the cage by accident.”
    “Well, a peppermint drop seems a funny sort of thing to get into the cage by accident,” said Mr. Goon grumpily. “I’ll have to take all these things home and think about them.”
    Fatty chuckled deep down in himself as he watched Mr. Goon put his “clues” into a clean white envelope, lick it up, write something on it, and put it carefully into his pocket. He turned to Mr. Tupping.
    “Well, so long!” he said. “Thanks for your help. It’s that boy Luke, no doubt about it. I’ve told him I’ll go along and give him a thorough questioning tomorrow, and if I don’t force a confession out of him, my name’s not Theophilus Goon!”
    And with that mouthful of a name old Clear-Orf departed majestically down the path, his “clues” safely in his pocket, his mind puzzling them over.
    Fatty longed to get down the tree, go home, and have some supper. He suddenly felt tremendously hungry. He peered down to see if Mr. Tupping had gone. But he hadn’t
    He was in the cat-house again, hunting about very carefully. After a while he came out, looking thoughtful, locked the house, and went off up the path still looking thoughtful. Fatty waited till his footsteps had died away, then slithered down the tree.
    “Well, we’ll see old Luke tomorrow and ask him no end of questions,” thought Fatty as he went home. “My word — this has been an exciting day!”
    But there were more exciting things to come!
     
    Pip and Bets Pay a Call.
     
    Next morning Fatty was down at Pip’s house early, longing to tell the others how surprised and puzzled Mr. Goon and the gardener had been when they had found all the “false” clues. Larry and Daisy arrived about the same time as Buster and Fatty, and soon the children were giggling over Fatty’s story.
    “Clear-Orf asked Tupping if Luke smoked cigars,” said Fatty with a chuckle. “I almost fell out of the tree trying not to laugh!”
    “We’ve whistled lots of times to Luke this morning,” said Pip, “but he hasn’t answered us, or come to the wall either. Do you think he is too frightened