“You grow roses, young man?” The woman was surprised.

  “Not like yours, I’m afraid,” Jupiter said.

  She beamed. “I have won prizes, I must admit.”

  “And he just drove off?” Jupiter said, shaking his head as he looked towards the roses. “The man who did that?”

  “The horrible little villain! Without a word!”

  Jupiter said alertly, “A small man? In a cape, perhaps?”

  “Why, yes, something like a cape. He jumped out of that red car as if he were afraid it would explode. Then he jumped back in and drove right off through my fence! Some of my neighbours tried to stop him, but he was gone. They didn’t even see his licence plate.”

  Jupiter’s voice was casual. “I suppose he didn’t leave anything behind to identify him? A suitcase?”

  “Nothing I saw,” the lady said sadly. “But I really didn’t see very much. It happened so fast, and then so many people crowded into the yard.’’

  “I’m sure they all meant well,” Jupiter said. “Thank you, ma’am.”

  He motioned to Bob and Pete, and the three of them left the battered yard.

  “It sounds like him, all right,” Bob said.

  “And he did get out of the car!” Pete pointed out.

  “Yes,” Jupiter said. “Perhaps a neighbour saw more.”

  In the yard of the house next door a man was out watering his lawn. The boys walked up to him.

  “Excuse me, sir,” Jupiter said, “but could we ask you some questions about the accident next door? We’re investigating—”

  “Investigating?” The man looked at them suspiciously.

  “For a school project,” Bob said quickly. “We’re studying hit-and-run drivers in our social studies class.”

  Jupiter sometimes forgot that most adults didn’t take them seriously as detectives, often refusing even to talk to them. But adults almost always approved of a school project! The man smiled at once.

  “That’s fine, we all need to learn respect for the law,” he said. “But I’m afraid I can’t help you much. I was in the house when I saw that car skid and smash the fence.

  It started steaming and the driver jumped out. Had a tool kit or something, probably thought the car was on fire. But it was only a broken water-hose, easy to fix at any garage. By the time I got outside he was gone.”

  “A tool kit?” Pete exclaimed. “What did he do with it?”

  “I wouldn’t know. There was getting to be a crowd around by then, kids and all.

  Maybe Kastner across the street there saw more. He’s usually on his porch.”

  They thanked the man, and crossed the street to a large blue house. An old man sat on the wide front porch.

  “I know Mr. Kastner,” Pete said as they approached. “From church. He’s a deacon.” As they reached the porch, Pete said, “Hello, Mr. Kastner. Could we talk to you about—”

  “The accident over there, eh, Peter?” the old man broke in, his eyes twinkling.

  “I’ve been watching you. I’d say The Three Investigators are after that hit-and-run driver, right?”

  “Yes, sir.” Pete grinned. “Can you tell us anything?”

  “Saw it all, my boy. What do you want to know?”

  “The driver had a tool kit,” Bob said. “Did you see it? Maybe he left it behind? A small black case?”

  “As a ma’tter of fact, he did! I told the detective—”

  Jupiter’s eyes narrowed. “Detective, sir?”

  “Yep, came around maybe only five minutes after that Datsun drove off,” Mr.

  Kastner said. “Real little guy with a pointy face and a ratty sports jacket. They should pay the police more. Wanted to know if I’d seen a black case on the ground over there. Told him I sure had. Saw some boy on a bike pick it up. Just about your age, Peter, or a little older. Think I’ve seen him around here, but can’t place him, you know?”

  “What did he do with the case?” Bob asked eagerly.

  “Rode off with it. Around on to Peter’s street. Last I saw of him. He didn’t come back out. Told the detective so, and he ran off to your block pretty excited.” The old man frowned. “Funny, now that I think of it, but the detective was on foot. Hadn’t a car. I thought that was odd.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Kastner!” Pete exclaimed.

  The boys hurried off towards Pete’s street.

  “It was the thief, wasn’t it, Jupe!” Bob said as they reached Pete’s corner.

  “Pretending to be a detective!”

  “He came back for the case!” Pete said.

  “And Mr. Kastner told him about the boy on the bike,” Jupiter said. “That’s how he knew it had to be on Pete’s block.”

  Bob stopped, his face dismayed. “But how could the thief be sure that kid stayed on this block? I mean, all Mr. Kastner said was that he saw the boy ride on to this street and not come back out. But he could have just ridden right on to the next block, or the one after that, couldn’t he?”

  Jupiter looked stunned. “There must be some—”

  “The sewer!” Pete cried, looking up the street towards the far end of the block. “I forgot about the sewer work!”

  A gaping excavation lay across the entire street near the end of the block, extending through the sidewalks and into the yards.

  “Gosh,” Bob realized. “No one could ride past that, even on a bicycle! So if the kid rode on to this block, and didn’t ride back the way he’d come, he has to live here somewhere!”

  “Pete,” Jupiter said, “what boys of our age live here?”

  “Just the new kid, Joey Marsh, He lives four houses up from me,” Pete said. “And that Frankie Bender. You know, Jupe, that bully who runs with that gang of dumb wise guys at school?”

  “I remember him. Okay, let’s find them.”

  Pete led them to a big house four doors beyond his home. A smiling matronly woman answered Pete’s ring. He asked for Joey.

  “You’re Peter Crenshaw, aren’t you?” Mrs. Marsh said. “I’m sure Joey will be sorry he missed you, but he’s visiting his grandmother in San Francisco.”

  “When did he go up there, ma’am?” Pete asked.

  “Almost a week ago, Peter.”

  They thanked her, and Pete took them across the street and on up the block. They stopped at a bungalow surrounded by trees.

  “I guess that just leaves Frankie Bender,” Pete said as they walked up the tree-lined driveway towards the house. “I sure hate to have to talk to him, but if anyone swiped the case, it’d be Frankie.”

  “We had better be careful what we say,” Jupiter decided. “We don’t want to make him suspicious—”

  A shower of leaves suddenly cascaded down over them, and something whistled through the air above their heads!

  “What—!” Bob cried out.

  Another object zinged above them! Small and quick, singing past like a bullet, and tearing through the leaves of the trees overhead. And another, and …

  “Owwwwwww!” Pete yelped as he was hit squarely on the leg.

  “Down, guys!” Bob cried.

  Chapter 8

  The Black Case!

  “HA-HA-HA!”

  The sneering laugh came from on top of the garage! A short, barrel-chested boy about Pete’s age stood up on the roof where he had been hiding like a sniper. A wicked-looking slingshot dangled from his hand.

  “Ping—ping—ping!” He laughed. “I could have picked you off one by one like rabbits! Don’t you creeps even know enough to take cover? Boy, you don’t know nothing!”

  Pete jumped up, furious. “You could

  have broken my leg with that, Bender! A

  slingshot’s dangerous!”

  “Aw, nuts,” Frankie Bender said. He

  took something from a bag at his belt and

  shot it lazily at Pete. “See? Just wooden

  balls,

  that’s

  all.

  Besides,

  I’m

  a

  sharpshooter, and I was just buzzin’ you

  mostly. Look!”

  Bender shot a ball full force. It whizzed

  just over Pete’s head. Pete paled, but

  stood his ground. Jupiter walked closer to

  the boy on the roof and looked up.

  “You’re stupid, Frank Bender,” Jupiter

  said

  quietly.

  “Someday

  you’ll

  hurt

  someone, and then you’ll be in real

  trouble. Meanwhile, I believe there’s a law

  against that kind of slingshot.”

  “Hey!” Bender grinned uneasily. “You

  talk so smart, don’t you even know a

  joke?”

  “You’re the joke, Frankie, not your

  slingshot!” Pete said hotly.

  Jupe continued calmly, “I intend to report you to the police.”

  Bender’s grin faded, and he scowled down from the roof. “You better not, Fatso!

  What do you goody-goodies want here anyway? You’re trespassing on my driveway.

  Yeh, that’s it, you’re trespassers! I was defending my property!”

  “You better read some law!” Bob said, and then he laughed. “Boy, what you don’t know, Frankie!”

  “Don’t try to be clever, Bender, it takes thinking,” Jupiter said drily. “What we want is that black carrying case you stole from the scene of the accident two days ago.

  And what was in it.”

  “Hey, how do you—?” Bender stopped, his small eyes sly in his pudgy face. “What case? I mean, I don’t know nothing about any black case.”

  “You were seen with it!” Pete retorted.

  “Not me, no sir,” Bender said.

  “We’ve got witnesses!” Bob declared.

  “Yeh? So why haven’t the cops been around?”

  “Because they don’t know what we know,” Jupiter said. “Listen, Bender—the man in that Datsun was a thief! What’s in that case is stolen property. You could get in trouble.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bender said.

  “Don’t be dumb,” Jupiter said, shaking his head. If you don’t get into trouble with the police, you will with the thief! He’s looking hard for his case right now. If he finds you—”

  On the garage roof, Frankie Bender bit his lip for a moment. He looked nervous.

  Then his chin lifted stubbornly.

  “Phooey! You’re trying to trick me. I never saw any black case. Now get out of here before I whistle up my gang!”

  “We’ll call the police if we have to,” Jupiter said.

  “You don’t scare me, Jupiter Jones! If you don’t get out of here, maybe I’ll call the cops. I’m telling you to leave!”

  Pete said, “Come down here and tell us!”

  “Without your gang,” Bob challenged.

  Bender reddened. “Beat it! Now!”

  “We’d better go, fellows,” Jupiter said.

  Reluctantly, Bob and Pete followed Jupiter back down the driveway. Jupiter turned down the street towards Pete’s house, where they had left their bikes.

  “We’re not giving up, are we, First?” Bob said. “I’m sure he’s got the case!”

  “He’s got it all right,” Pete said flatly.

  “Yes, he has,” Jupiter said, “and we have him worried. The moment he thinks we’ve really gone away, he’ll go to wherever he has the case to make sure it’s still there.”

  “You think he’ll lead us to it?” Pete said as the boys crossed the street to his house.

  Jupiter nodded. “He was pretty anxious to get rid of us, and he’s nervous. He’ll check to be sure he still has it, and when he does—we’ll be there!”

  The moment they were out of sight in Pete’s backyard, the Investigators began to trot through the other backyards in the direction of the Bender house. They reached the house facing Bender’s and reconnoitred. A line of thick bushes grew between this yard and the next. Like skirmishers on dangerous patrol in enemy country, the boys slipped through the shubbery until they were almost at the pavement. Peeking out, they had a clear view across the street of Frankie Bender’s front yard.

  The boys crouched down and kept the Bender house under observation. A few minutes later, Frankie Bender came out of the garage and hurried down the driveway towards the street.

  “Jupe,” Bob whispered, “he’s leaving!”

  “He doesn’t have any case!” Pete added.

  “Then we’ll follow him,” Jupiter said. “Keep hidden!”

  The ox-like bully, his slingshot stuck into his belt, walked to the unblocked end of the street, and turned away from the ocean. Moving from yard to yard and keeping out of sight, the shadowing trio followed him to the edge of town and out into the brown foothills of the dry mountain that surrounded Rocky Beach.

  Bender looked nervously around from time to time, but, like most people, he didn’t know how to observe and never saw the boys tailing him. He crossed the railroad tracks and went up the steep slope of a low mountain covered with thorny chapparal and studded with dull green, twisted live-oaks. Halfway up, with the Investigators slipping from tree to bush below, he reached a thick growth of tangled mesquite — and vanished!

  “He’s gone!” Pete cried low.

  “Careful,” Jupiter warned, “He could be watching.”

  They worked their way up slowly, crawling the last few yards to the growth of heavy mesquite. Peter raised his head to peer through the dry bushes.

  “It’s a cave!” he whispered. “It opens behind the bushes.”

  They crawled through the tough mesquite, which tore at their clothes, and into the dark opening in the mountain. Still on their hands and knees, they crept along a short tunnel that suddenly opened up into a large, dim cave. For a time they looked around without getting up or moving.

  Their quarry was nowhere in sight. But as their eyes became fully accustomed to the dim light, they saw chairs and tables made from orange crates and packing boxes, old rugs on the stone floor, some sleeping bags, electric lanterns, boxes of crackers and candy, a bus-stop sign, a broken motorcycle, two old car doors, parts of uniforms, and a lot more junk.

  “It looks like—” Pete started.

  “— a clubhouse!” Bob finished. “It’s his gang’s hideout !”

  “Of course,” Jupiter whispered. “Just where he’d hide anything he didn’t want found. Careful, fellows, he’s here somewhere.”

  They stood up quietly in the dim cave and moved ahead, crouching low. Some ten yards farther on the cave curved sharply left. Around the curve, Frankie Bender was kneeling in front of a flat rock. On the rock, open, was a small black carrying case!

  Bender heard the boys, and turned in alarm.

  “So you have it!” Jupiter said.

  The alarm left the bully boy’s face, and was replaced by a dazed expression.

  “It’s … it’s … gone!”

  The boys ran forward. The black case was lined with heavy blue velvet—and it was empty!

  “It was a statue,” Frankie Bender babbled. “This swell statue! A real great mascot for our gang. Some kind of crazy figure—”

  “What did it look like—exactly!” Jupiter demanded.

  Bender was facing them. His eyes suddenly grew wide with terror.

  “It looked” — he pointed behind the boys — “like that!

  The Investigators whirled around.

  “Ulp!” Pete choked.

  The apparition from the beach stood in the dim cave!

  “The statue,” Frankie Bender moaned, “it’s come alive!”

  Jangling and stamping, the shaggy thing with the great horned head and red eyes began to dance towards them!

  Chapter 9

  Trapped!

  PARALYSED, THE FOUR BOYS stood in the dim cave with nowhere to run. The monstrous thing capered towards them, its slit-eyes glowing red.

  The cave ended behind them. They were trapped.

  “Jupe, what do we do?” Bob cried.

  “I … I don’t—” Jupiter stammered.

  It was Frank Bender who suddenly acted. He was a bully, but he had courage.

  White-faced, he pulled out his slingshot, picked up a heavy stone from the cave floor, and shot it at the advancing apparition. Hit, the savage figure grunted and fell back a step. Bender grabbed more stones.

  “Throw rocks, you guys!” he yelled.

  Pete and Bob grabbed larger stones and hurled them at the savage demon figure.

  Bender kept on shooting his slingshot. But the hail of missiles bounced off the thick padding and huge head of the creature with no apparent damage.

  It shook its shaggy head. “Ahhhhrrrrrrr!” it groaned, and began to move faster as the boys retreated to the back wall.

  “We can’t hurt it!” Frankie Bender cried.

  The barbarous figure danced closer in the dim cave.

  Jupiter moved. He darted to the black case, still lying open on the flat rock, and grabbed it. Holding it in one hand, he picked up a large stone and held it over the open case.

  “I’ll smash it!” he cried.

  The eerie apparition stopped dead! Its red slit-eyes burned towards Jupiter, but it stood motionless. Jupiter stared at it, his eyes glinting.

  “So you’re real enough to understand English,” he said.

  “And he sure wants the statue!” Bob added.

  “Why not?” Frankie Bender said, his voice shaking. “He is the statue. Or the statue’s him. Or … maybe …”

  The apparition began to quiver slowly where it stood. The bells, bones, rattles that hung from its neck and belt jangled and rattled as if some great force surged inside.

  The flat, hollow voice filled the cave:

  “Small creatures, beware. Defilers are destroyed.”

  Jupiter held the rock over the black case. “What is this statue? Who are you?”

  “Hear the Spirit Shaman, fools!” the hollow voice boomed. “The great Khan of the Golden Horde waits in the wind for the Dancing Devil!”

  Pete gulped. “Dancing Devil? Khan? Golden— what?”

  “The Statue is the Dancing Devil?” Jupiter said, watching the monster. “Or you are? A spirit that speaks English.”

 

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