Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting Sneakers Read Online Free PDF Page B

started for the wood.
    “He’s seen us!” Charlie squeaked.
    “He’s coming for branches to put under the tire,” Encyclopedia said. “However … let’s get out of here!”
    “I don’t know how you do it,” Charlie said. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
    The boys hightailed it back to their tent.
    “I’ve got to get to a telephone and call Dad,” Encyclopedia panted, climbing on his bike.
    “Something tells me I’m going with you,” Charlie said shakily.
    The rain was falling harder as theyreached the outskirts of Idaville.
    None of the stores were open, but on Third Street they saw a pay phone. It didn’t do them any good. They had only fifteen cents between them.
    “I’ll bike on home,” Encyclopedia said.
    “You’ll be too late,” Charlie replied. “By the time your dad gets to the clearing, the rain will have washed away all trace of the helicopter and the van. He won’t—”
    Charlie’s jaw dropped in surprise. The gray van was coming down the street.
    “Let’s follow it,” Encyclopedia said.
    “I wish us a lot of very good luck,” Charlie said with a moan.
    The van turned left into an alley and stopped at the rear entrance to R. C. Duggan’s Import-Export Shop.
    The driver and a big, dark-haired man unloaded the boxes. Encyclopedia and Charlie hid behind a dumpster.
    “That does it,” the big man said. “Ditch the van and get back here.”
    The van roared off. The big man went into the shop, leaving the door open a crack.
    “Let’s take a peek,” Encyclopedia said.

    “Not me,” Charlie replied. “It’s better to be a coward for a day than a dead fifth-grader for the rest of my life.”
    “Just a quick look around,” Encyclopedia said. “In and out before the driver returns.”
    “Okay,” Charlie murmured. He gulped and pressed his hand to his chest. “Be still, my foolish heart.”
    The boys slipped through the door and entered a storeroom. Encyclopedia heard the big man moving in a front room.
    The three large boxes stood against the storeroom wall.
    In the dim light of the room’s two naked bulbs, Encyclopedia read the writing on each box.
    Remite: Tienda de Antigüedades
    113 Mindello
    Lima, Perú
    Señor Hernández
          
    Tienda de Antigüedades
    771 Salzedo
                    
    Barcelona, España
          
    “What does this mean?” Charlie whispered.
    “It’s Spanish,” Encyclopedia replied. “It says the three boxes were shipped from Peru, a country in South America, and are going to a man in Spain.”
    He pulled the tape off one box and opened it. Inside were clay pots. They appeared very old and were wrapped in foam material to keep them from breaking.
    “Look in them,” Charlie urged.
    Encyclopedia looked. The pots were empty.
    “I figured we’d find something valuable hidden inside,” Charlie muttered. “Like diamonds.”
    “They seem to be copies of ancient Indian pots,” Encyclopedia Brown said thoughtfully. “South American Indians made pottery more than three thousand years ago. If these pots were real, they’d be worth a fortune.”
    He pointed to the word
copy
, painted in white on the bottom of each pot. The paint rubbed off.
    “Let’s open the other two boxes,” Charlie said. “There has to be
something
more.”
    There was—more old-looking pots. Eachhad the word
copy
painted on its bottom.
    “I get it!” Charlie said. “Somebody is smuggling fake old pots. When they reach Spain, the word
copy
will be wiped off. The buyer will be told the pots are three thousand years old!”
    Encyclopedia did not answer. He was puzzled.
    If Charlie was right, what was the point of all the secrecy?
    The boys sealed up the boxes and sneaked outside. As they pedaled away, Encyclopedia suddenly understood.
    “Of course!” he exclaimed. “They’re smuggling …”
    WHAT?
    (
Turn to this page for the solution to The Case of the Smugglers’ Secret.)

Solution to
The Case of the Fifth