Encyclopedia Brown and the case of the midnight visitor Read Online Free PDF

bag . . . and a gun!"
    Encyclopedia wished there were a yoga exercise Caswell could do with his mouth—such as shut it.
    "It's only ten minutes to noon," said Sally. "We can hang around the bus station this afternoon and keep our eyes open."
    Caswell insisted on coming along. Encyclopedia was soon sorry that he let him. Everyone in the bus-station waiting room looked like a gangster to Caswell.
    First it was a man in a tan hat who stood by the magazine rack thumbing through a movie magazine. The man finally bought a newspaper and sat down on a bench.
    "See, he's not reading," said Caswell. ''He's really watching for Blue-Point Blackie!"

    8 8 Encyclopedia Brown
    "You overheard two men," Sally pointed out.
    ''What about those two by the soda machine?" said Caswell.
    The two men were drinking from paper cups by the soda machine. The taller man glanced at his wristwatch.
    "Maybe they're just thirsty," said Encyclopedia.
    "Look over by the ticket window," said Caswell. "Those two men in dark suits aren't buying tickets. They're probably asking if Blue-Point Blackie's bus is on time."
    "Caswell, is there anyone you don't suspect?" demanded Sally.
    "Those two must be big-shot crooks from out of town," said Caswell. "Nobody in Idaville wears dark clothes in summer. You'd better follow them. I'll watch things here."
    Encyclopedia and Sally followed the men in the dark suits out to where the buses arrived and departed. Encyclopedia was glad to get away from Caswell.
    During the next twenty minutes, buses came and went. Yet the two men in the

    dark suits remained waiting by the railing.
    Encyclopedia lost sight of them when passengers, streaming from the two o'clock bus from Glenn City, blocked his view. Suddenly a woman screamed.
    The detectives rushed over. A black-haired man lay on the floor, unconscious. No one seemed to know what had happened to him.
    Officer Carlson came hurrying up. 'It's Blue-Point Blackie," he said in surprise. **What is a Chicago crook doing in Idaville?"
    *'If he ever had an overnight bag with him, it's gone now," whispered Sally.
    The detectives found Caswell. He could tell them nothing.
    '1 got bored," he admitted. '*So I practiced my headstand."
    ''You did whatr' gasped Sally.
    "The man in the tan hat folded his newspaper in half and was reading the bottom half," said Caswell. "So the headlines were on my side. I tried reading them while standing on my head. They were upside down, and it took a long time—"

    A black-haired man lay on the floor, unconscioiLS.

    *'Never mind the headlines!" cried Sally. "Did you see anyone running away with an overnight bag?"
    "Everyone was running after some woman screamed," said Caswell. ^'That's when the man in the tan hat left the bench. I was just combing my hair when you came back."
    *'I ought to comb it with a blowtorch," said Sally furiously.
    ''I think the headlines began, *Earth-quake Hits . ..' " said Caswell.
    "You missed everything trying to read a headline," shrieked Sally. "Blue-Point Blackie was slugged, and we don't have a clue!"
    "Oh, yes, we do," corrected Encyclopedia.
    WHAT WAS THE CLUE?
    (Turn to page 111 for the solution to The Case of Blue-Point Blackie.)

    1

    The Case of Oie HttpRim Car

    Encyclopedia and Sally were walking on a quiet street in downtown Idaville when they heard a screech of tires.
    Around a corner roared a blue car. Inside were two men. They looked scared.
    The car raced down the block and turned onto Ninth Street.
    "They're in a mighty big hurry," said Encyclopedia.
    **The driver should be arrested before he kills someone," said Sally angrily.
    It had been a peaceful afternoon until then. The detectives had just visited Benny Breslin at Mercy Hospital. Benny's tonsils had been removed.

    Suddenly they heard a woman shouting. They ran to Jefferson Place, tlje street from which the blue car had come.
    A woman was standing near the sidewalk. She was shouting at the top of her lungs. ''Call an ambulance! Call the police!"
    A man