Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Soccer Scheme Read Free

to write down the number of jelly beans they thought were in the jar.
    Suddenly a high-pitched voice demanded, “Stick ’em up!”
    It was Pistol Pete. He was pointing his gun at Trudy.
    Trudy seemed nervous. She held up five fingers on her left hand and only four on her right. Her right thumb was bent into her palm.
    â€œWhy the bent thumb?” Sally whispered to Encyclopedia.
    â€œDon’t know yet,” Encyclopedia whispered back.
    â€œThe jelly beans or your life,” Pistol Pete snarled.
    â€œGet lost!” someone cried. “Who opened your cage?” someone else cried. Those were the kindest remarks.
    â€œUh-oh,” the shortest sheriff in America muttered. “Time to hit the trail.” He squirted himself in the head and went thataway out the door.
    Trudy collected the papers and pencils and passed them to Mr. Whitten. He read out loud the number of jelly beans the children had written.
    â€œI’m sorry,” he said. “No one has it right so far. But forty-five is closest.” He glanced over the children. “Do I have everyone’s number?”
    â€œNot mine,” shouted Butch as he scribbled on his paper. He passed it to Mr. Whitten.
    Mr. Whitten raised Butch’s paper and the card from under the jelly-bean jar. On both was written 54.
    â€œFifty-four is correct!” Mr. Whitten announced. “We have a winner!”
    â€œHow could Butch guess the winning number?” Sally wondered. “He had to cheat!”
    â€œI’m sure he did,” Encyclopedia said.
    WHAT MADE ENCYCLOPEDIA SURE?
    ( Click here for the solution to “The Case of the Jelly-Bean Holdup.” )

The Case of the Soccer Scheme

    On the field in South Park the Chipmunks and Cobras soccer teams were warming up for the game to decide the league championship for boys twelve and under.
    Encyclopedia and Sally stood on the sideline with Hugh Canfield, a school friend. Hugh was manager of the Chipmunks.
    â€œWho are those two Cobras?” Sally asked. “The ones heading the ball to each other.”
    â€œThey’re the Hackanstack twins, Vince and Vernon,” Hugh said.
    â€œThey look awful tough,” Sally said.
    â€œThey’re mean and tough,” Hugh replied. “They talk trash to the other team. They say things like, ‘With a head like yours, you can be sure of one point.’”
    â€œHow can you tell which twin is which?” Sally said. “Jerseys ought to have more than a number. They should have the player’s name, too. The Cobra uniforms have just numbers.”
    â€œThat wouldn’t help because they have the same last name,” Hugh said. “A soccer uniform usually has just a number.”
    The game started and wasn’t three minutes old when the referee blew his whistle.
    â€œChipmunk number eight, you were holding,” he called.
    He awarded the Cobras a free kick from the spot of the foul. The spot was too far from the Chipmunks’ goal to threaten a score.
    â€œIt looked to me like the Cobra did the holding,” Sally said.
    A woman near Sally turned and spoke sharply. “The referee calls them as he sees them. He’s closer to the action than you are. You should learn to respect authority, young lady.”
    â€œMust be a Cobra mother,” Hugh mumbled.
    Five minutes later, the referee called a foul against a Cobra. “You were holding, Bob,” he said. “Because number eight of the Chipmunks held you earlier, don’t try to get even. I want a clean game.”
    A Chipmunk kicked downfield. A Cobra player trapped the ball and back-footed it to a teammate. A Chipmunk player cut off the pass and stole the ball.
    â€œAttaboy, Frank!” Hugh hollered at the Chipmunk.
    Frank sparked an attack that kept the ball deep in the Cobras’ end of the field. The Cobras defended well. The Chipmunks failed to score.
    The half ended in a 0–0 deadlock.
    Late in the