Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of Pablos Nose Read Online Free PDF Page B

Spike jeered. “Your story is gripping me.”
    â€œIf you had fed that dumb snake, he wouldn’t have been hungry!” Barry shot back.
    â€œOh, yeah?” Spike snarled. “If you bit your lip you’d die of food poisoning.”
    â€œWhere is your snake now, Spike?” Sally put in quickly.
    Spike pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. “At home.”
    He led them down the block to his house. In a small, open shed in the backyard there was a large glass tank.
    Encyclopedia saw a boa constrictor, a Burmese python, and a family of harmless grass snakes.
    He did not see Spike’s black-and-yellow snake.
    â€œMy folks love all sorts of reptiles,” Spike said. “They gave me Kid Tiger for a pet.”
    Suddenly he gasped. “Kid Tiger! He’s gone!”
    â€œYou said a mouthful,” Barry declared. “That snake is in the grass somewhere. He’s sleeping off his big meal.”

    â€œYou stole Kid Tiger so he couldn’t beat your two Jurassic junk heaps tomorrow,” Spike growled.
    â€œSnakes don’t race against lizards,” Sally pointed out.
    â€œRight,” Barry said. “There are prizes for the winning snake, lizard, and turtle. But a grand prize goes to the kid whose racer is judged the best overall. Spike couldn’t stand the idea of Erasmus or Erastus being the big winner.”
    â€œI’m giving you fair warning,” Spike said. “Return Kid Tiger, or you better be a fast healer.”
    The two boys fell to jawing again. Sally pulled Encyclopedia aside.
    â€œEither one could be trying to keep the other from winning best overall,” she said. “Barry could have hidden Kid Tiger and Erasmus and Erastus, with the idea of ‘finding’ the lizards just before the races and the snake just afterward. Spike could have hidden Kid Tiger after slipping him into the cage to eat Erasmus and Erastus.”
    Encyclopedia stared silently at the empty cage.
    â€œGood grief, say something!” Sally exclaimed. “Who is lying? You know, don’t you?”
    â€œYes, and I’m sorry to have taken so long with it,” Encyclopedia apologized. “The liar is—”
Who Lied?
    (Turn to this page for the solution to The Case of the Racing Reptiles.)

The Case of the Unknown Thief

    S torm clouds hung in the night sky as Encyclopedia and Sally left the movie theater.
    â€œWe have plenty of time to catch the number six bus home,” Sally said.
    The detectives headed toward the bus stop on Main Street. They had walked half a block when the storm broke.
    â€œRubin’s Fine Jewelers will still be open,” Encyclopedia shouted. “We can duck in there and take a later bus. Mr. Rubin is a friend of Dad’s.”
    The detectives ran through the rain. They were soaked when they reached the jewelry store.
    Six customers were inside. Mr. Rubin was at the cash register in the rear. Two men, their backs to the detectives, stood at the counter in front of him.
    One of the men wore a gray suit and carried a woodencane with an ivory handle. The other wore a brown suit and had an umbrella.
    Outside, the storm grew worse. Suddenly the lights dimmed.
    â€œOh, no, the power is going!” a woman gasped.
    A moment later the lights in the store and on the street went out.
    Everyone talked at once.
    â€œI can’t see a thing.”
    â€œSarah, where are you?”
    â€œOver here. Where are you?”
    â€œIt’s like a bats’ cave in here.”
    â€œNo, like the Tunnel of Love.”
    Laughter.
    Someone bumped Encyclopedia. He heard the door open and close. He could not see who left.
    Presently the rain let up. The power, however, remained out. Encyclopedia heard the shop door opening and closing as customers left in the darkness.
    After a few minutes more the lights came back on. The store was empty except for the detectives, Mr. Rubin, and the customer in the brown suit.
    On the