Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting Sneakers Read Free Page A

asked.
    “I just don’t remember,” Mr. Tradd answered. “I really didn’t think the vans were important. I didn’t know about the kidnapping.”
    Officer Kent said, “I checked the companies. All the deliveries were scheduled.”
    He handed Chief Brown a small sheet of paper.
    “This is the note I found on a pad by the telephone in the family room,” he said.
    Chief Brown studied the note. He gave up and passed it to Encyclopedia.
    “What do you make of it, Leroy?”
    The boy detective read:
    Study Outbursts Defending Hiccoughing
Crabcake
    Chief Brown showed the note to Mrs. Allen. “Is this your brother’s handwriting?”
    Mrs. Allen put on her eyeglasses. “Yes … it looks like his.”
    “Did your brother like to write coded messages?” Chief Brown said.
    “As a boy he did,” Mrs. Allen answered. “He still enjoys word puzzles.” She dried her eyes. “I kept telling him not to live in this big house all alone!”
    Encyclopedia was thinking hard. He had closed his eyes. He opened them and asked his one question.
    “Is Crabcake Mr. Dunn’s nickname?”
    “I never heard him called that,” Mrs. Allen replied. She blew her nose.
    “It’s the newspaper’s fault,” she said bitterly. “It printed our pictures when Harry and I each inherited a million dollars last month. That gave somebody ideas!”
    She began to weep again.
    Chief Brown took Encyclopedia aside.
    “Maybe the vans and the crazy note have nothing to do with the kidnapping, Leroy,” he remarked.
    “No, Dad,” said Encyclopedia. “The word
Crabcake
tells which van took Mr. Dunn away. The top four words give the key to the code.”
    WHICH ONE?
    (Turn to this page for the solution to The Case of the Three Vans.)

The Case of the Rented Canoes
    C louds hid the sun Saturday morning. Nevertheless, Encyclopedia and his pal Tommy Barkdull decided to go ahead and rent a canoe.
    They nearly changed their minds at Captain Pete’s.
    The old sailor’s freshly painted canoes were neatly tied to the little dock by their front ends. They were not just in the water. They were partly under it.
    Half an inch of rainwater lay in the bottoms.
    “Sorry, you’ll get wet feet,” Captain Pete apologized. “I painted the canoes the other day. As I launched the last one, I twisted my ankle and had to go home. The canoes stayed out in the rain, but there’s not enough water in them to matter.”
    “The water won’t bother us,” Tommy said.
    Captain Pete rang up the rental fee and laid two paddles and two life jackets on the counter.
    “You’ve been here before,” he said. “You know the rules.”
    Tommy nodded. “Don’t run the canoe ashore unless the beach is soft, without rocks.”
    “If we see lightning, come in fast,” Encyclopedia said.
    Captain Pete grinned. “Enjoy yourselves.”
    The boys chose canoe number six. Since they were both the same weight, it didn’t matter who sat in the back and steered.
    “It’s your turn,” Tommy said. “I steered last time.”
    Encyclopedia wasn’t about to protest. Being able to paddle and steer was more funthan sitting in front and just paddling.
    He sloshed through the rainwater in the bottom of the canoe and took his seat in the back. Tommy got in and cast off.
    They stroked across the Idaville River and entered the tree-lined waterways of the state park.
    After a while they came to the park ranger’s station. It stood on a rocky little island, a patch of solid ground surrounded by mangrove trees.
    The door was wide open. The patrol boat that normally was tied to the dock in front was gone.
    The boys were about to investigate when they saw black storm clouds moving toward them.
    “Let’s make waves!” Tommy yelped.
    They paddled back to Captain Pete’s as fast as they could.
    Captain Pete was waiting for them.
    He had the boys haul the canoe onto land. The previous night’s rainwater spilled out as they turned it over on its rack.
    Carefully, Captain Pete examined the freshly painted