Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Soccer Scheme Read Free Page A

second half the referee blew his whistle and pointed to a Chipmunk. “Number three,” he hollered, “you were charging.”
    â€œThat’s Rick Haywood,” Hugh said. “Cool it, Rick!”
    Rick had let loose a landslide of protests. The referee waved a yellow card at him.
    â€œA warning,” Hugh said anxiously. “If Rick doesn’t calm down, it’s good-bye. He’s out of the game! Our one substitute banged up his foot skateboarding. If Rick gets thrown out, we’ll be ten men against the Cobras’ eleven.”
    Rick didn’t calm down. He pinched his nose and stomped around. The referee warned him again and finally waved him out of the game.
    Play went on. The Chipmunks held off the Cobras’ attacks despite having one less player and an overdose of the Hackanstack twins.
    The twins played by their own rules. In front of the referee they were as well mannered as boys at a garden party. Behind the referee’s back they acted like a demolition derby. They grabbed jerseys, dug elbows into ribs, tripped, and charged.
    The Chipmunk rooters screamed. The referee was unmoved. He was watching the player with the ball. He couldn’t call a foul he did not see.
    â€œThere are seventeen rules in soccer, and the twins have broken all of them this season,” Hugh said.
    With fewer than two minutes to play, a Cobra fell in the close-quarter battling by the Chipmunk goal. He lay on the ground as if in terrible pain.
    The referee immediately blew his whistle. “Chipmunk number four, you pushed Vince off the ball,” he said.
    Maybe, Encyclopedia thought. The push wasn’t clear from the sideline.
    The referee stooped over to the fallen Cobra, one of the Hackanstack twins. “Are you all right, Vince?”
    â€œI’ll be all right,” Vince said bravely.
    The pushing had been called within the penalty zone. The referee awarded the Cobras a penalty kick.
    The players on both teams took positions ten feet from where the referee had placed the ball on the ground. Unlike a free kick, a penalty kick could be stopped only by the goalie.
    Vince, who had suddenly become unhurt, strode to the ball. He had a clear, straight, 12-yard shot to the goal. Art Drum, the Chipmunk goalie, crouched, ready to spring for the ball.
    â€œArt has to be lucky,” Hugh said glumly. “A goalie seldom stops a penalty kick.”
    The braces on Vince’s teeth flashed in a wicked grin as he stepped up and kicked. The ball flew past Art and into the net.
    The Cobras’ rooters cheered and slapped each other on the back.
    With one fewer player, the Chipmunks couldn’t break through the Cobras’ defense before time ran out.
    The Cobras won, 1–0.
    â€œThe game shouldn’t count,” Sally grumbled. “The referee helped the Cobras win. How can we prove it, Encyclopedia?”
    â€œEasily,” replied the boy detective. “The referee said so.”
    WHAT DID THE REFEREE SAY?
    ( Click here for the solution to “The Case of the Soccer Scheme.” )

The Case of the Hole in the Book

    Raindrops danced on the roof of the Brown Detective Agency.
    â€œWe may as well quit for the day,” Sally said. “Nobody will come in this weather.”
    â€œHow about going to the public library?” Encyclopedia suggested. “I can loan you a raincoat and hat.”
    â€œSuits me,” Sally said.
    The two detectives made it to the library somewhat drier than wetter.
    Ms. Moore, the head librarian, came around her desk. “How nice to see you both,” she said.
    â€œIt’s good to be here,” Encyclopedia said. “Have you any new books?”
    â€œNot since you were here last,” replied Ms. Moore. “In fact, we have one less book. Harry Elton’s novel Fast Wheels had a hole burned into the middle pages. It’s ruined.”
    â€œWhen was the hole discovered?” Encyclopedia asked.
    â€œThree