The Secret of the Terror Castle by Robert Arthur

Author:Robert Arthur
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, Mysteries & Detective Stories
ISBN: 9780679811718
Publisher: Random House
Published: 1964-05-21T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

The Gipsy‘s Warning

WHAT A MESS!

It was two days since Jupiter had hurt himself. His Uncle Titus had rushed him to the hospital, where they had kept him a whole day, taking X-rays. Then they had soaked his foot in some kind of bath and let him come home. Doctor Alvarez said he would be able to hobble about soon. In fact, he wanted him to exercise his ankle as soon as he could.

But meanwhile there was Jupiter in bed with about a mile and a half of bandage round his ankle.

And there was Mr. Hitchcock, maybe finding another haunted house for his picture.

It looked as if The Three Investigators were going to be out of business without ever being in business.

Pete and Bob, sitting beside Jupiter’s bed, felt rather low.

“Does it hurt?” Pete asked when Jupiter moved a little and had to grit his teeth.

“No more than I deserve,” Jupiter said, “for being careless. Now let us proceed with our conference. The first subject to discuss is the mysterious telephone call we received immediately after our first visit to Terror Castle. Worthington has said he believes we were followed that night. Very likely Skinny Norris followed us.”

“He could have easily enough,” Bob said. “He knew we were interested in the place.”

“Skinny couldn’t have telephoned us and made his voice sound like that,” Pete objected. “So low and dead sounding. His voice is more like a pony whinnying.”

“I agree,” Jupiter said. “But it’s the only possibility I have been able to hit upon.”

He shifted his foot, wincing a little.

“Until I learn otherwise,” he added, “I shall refuse to believe that disembodied phantoms can use telephones.”

“Well, okay,” Bob agreed. “What’s next? The mysterious person who rolled the rocks down at you?”

“Yes,” Pete said grimly. “What about him? He’s one guy I’d like to get my hands on!”

“For the time being, I am ignoring him,” Jupiter said. “We are now certain he was not Skinny Norris. He may have no connection with the case at all. It may have been a child or a man wandering in the canyon who started the rocks rolling by accident.”

“He had an awfully good aim for someone who didn’t mean it,” Pete muttered.

“He must remain an enigma until further facts emerge. I am thinking now of the untruths which Mr. Rex told us when Pete and I visited him. Why did he say he was cutting dry brush when it was obvious that he wasn’t? And why did he have a pitcher of fresh lemonade ready, as if he expected us to be calling at that very moment?”

Both questions stumped all three of them. Pete scratched his head.

“Whiskers!” he said. “The farther we go, the more mysteries there are.”

At that moment Jupiter’s Aunt Mathilda bustled into the room.

“I meant to tell you earlier,” she said. “A queer thing happened yesterday morning just before you came back from the hospital. I forgot all about it in the excitement.”

“Queer thing?” Jupiter asked, and they all pricked up their ears.

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