Encyclopedia Brown Finds the Clues Read Free

heard the kidnappers say he was to get one hundred dollars for picking up the ransom money.”
    “That’s a lie!” said Encyclopedia.
    “Quiet down,” said Officer Carlson. “You’ll have your turn. Go on, Bugs.”
    “When Encyclopedia didn’t show up with the money,” said Bugs, “the kidnappers figured he’d kept it all for himself. They got angrier every minute.”
    “I brought as much money as I could get together on such short notice to the old railroad station,” said Mrs. Meany. “Nobody met me.”
    “I guess our little Mr. Smarty lost his nerve at the last minute,” said Bugs. “But I didn’t lose mine. I knew the kidnappers might kill me, they were so angry. I looked for a way to break out.”
    “My poor baby,” said Mrs. Meany.
    Bugs made a face and went on.
    “I felt around the dark room where the kidnappers had put me,” he said. “I found a crowbar. I thought I’d take the hinges off the locked door, but no luck. The hinges were on the other side of the door.”
    “How terrible!” sobbed Mrs. Meany.
    “For Pete’s sake, Ma, let me finish! ” exclaimed Bugs.
    He licked his lips and said, “I decided to break the lock and fight my way out. Before I could start, I heard the kidnappers coming toward the door. I planned to hit the first one who came into the room with the crowbar, take his gun, and shoot my way to freedom.”
    Bugs drew a deep breath. “I never swung the crowbar. The door was unlocked and pushed open hard. It swung into the room, knocking me down. I looked up. By the hall light, I saw a man pointing a gun at me.”
    Mrs. Meany gasped and wrung her hands.
    “It looked like my number was up,” said Bugs, rolling his eyes to heaven. “Instead, the kidnappers drove me to the place where they’d kidnapped me and let me go.”
    Mrs. Meany muttered about a miracle.
    Officer Carlson said to Encyclopedia, “Is this some kind of prank?”
    “Yes, sir,” answered Encyclopedia. “It is.”
    Sally covered her mouth, stunned.
    “It was probably one of the Tigers who telephoned Mrs. Meany to say Bugs had been kidnapped,” explained Encyclopedia. “The rest is all made up.”
    “I’m no liar! ” shouted Bugs. “I heard the kidnappers say you were hired to pick up the ransom money. You never showed up at the old railroad station. You got scared. My mother is right—I’m lucky to be alive!”
    “I wasn’t part of the kidnap gang,” said Encyclopedia, “because there was no kidnapping. Except for one slip, you might have made everyone believe you, Bugs.”
    "
     
WHAT WAS BUGS’S SLIP?
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
(Please see solutions section)

The Case of the Boy Bullfighter
    Charlie Stewart, who owned the best tooth collection in Idaville, slipped into the Brown Detective Agency. He wore bright red pants and a funny look.
    Encyclopedia stared at his pal’s red pants. “Who’s chasing you? A lovesick fire engine?”
    “How’s your Spanish?” asked Charlie.
    “Awful. Even Spanish moss gives me trouble,” said Encyclopedia. “What’s the problem?”
    “My tooth collection has been stolen, including the flowered cookie jar I keep it in,” said Charlie. “And I got bitten something fierce.”
    “One thing at a time,” said Encyclopedia. “I thought you could reach into that cookie jar and pull out a tooth without getting nipped, kind of like a snake trainer.”
    “I wasn’t bitten in the cookie jar,” said Charlie, turning around. “I was bitten here.”
    The seat of his red pants was missing.
    “The teeth that bit me belong to a dog—a big, black dog,” said Charlie. “And he understands only Spanish.”
    “I don’t do well with dogs that understand only English,” said Encyclopedia.
    “You won’t have to talk to the dog. Just get back my tooth collection,” wailed Charlie.
    He slapped twenty-five cents on the gasoline can beside Encyclopedia. “And while you’re at it, find the seat of my pants!”
    “Okay, but start at the other