Mystery Of The Missing Necklace Read Free Page B

Fatty! You can stop pretending now. We know it's you!"
    The old man felt the punch and looked round indignantly, his eyes almost hi dden under his shaggy eyebrows. He moved a little way away from Larry and Pip and went on smoking.
    "Fatty ! Shut up smoking and talk to us, idiot!" said Pip. The old man took his pipe out of his mouth, put his hand behind his ear, and said "Wassat?"
    "He's pretending to be deaf now !” said Bets, and giggled again.
    "Ah ? " said the old man, looking puzzled. "Wassat ? "
    "What does 'Wassat' mean?" asked Bets.
    "It means 'What's that' of course," said Larry. "Hey, Fatty, stop it now. Give up, and tell us we're right. We all spotted you at once."
    "Wassat?" said the old man again and put his hand behind his ear once more. It was a very peculiar ear, large and flat and purple red. Bets gazed at it and then nudged Daisy.
    "Daisy I We've made a frightful mistake! It's not Fatty. Look at his ears !”
    Every one gazed at the old fellow's ears. No — not even Fatty could make his ears go like that. And they were not false ears either. They were quite real, not very clean, and remarkably hairy. In fact, they were most unpleasant ears.
    "Golly! It is n’ t Fatty!" said Pip, gazing at the ears. "What must the old man think of us?"
    "Wassat?" said the old man again, evidently extremely puzzled at the children's familiar behaviour towards him.
    "Well, thank goodness the poor old thing is deaf," said Daisy, feeling ashamed of their mistake. "Come on Larry, come on, Pip, We've made an idiotic mistake! How Fatty would laugh if he knew!"
    "He's probably hiding somewhere around and grinning to himself like anything," said Pip. They left the
    puzzled old man sitting on his bench and went off down the street again. They met the baker, and Bets gave him a long and piercing stare, wondering if he could by any chance be Fatty. But he wasn't. He was much too tall.
    Then they met the window-cleaner, and as he was rather plump, and just about Fatty's height, they all went and pretended to examine his barrow of ladders and pails, taking cautious glances at him to find out whether or not he could be Fatty in disguise.
    "Here! What's the matter with you kids?" said the window-cleaner. "Haven't you ever seen ladders and pails before? And what are you giving me them looks for ? Anything wrong with me today ? "
    "No," said Larry hurriedly, for the window-cleaner sounded rather annoyed. "It's just that — er — these sliding ladders — er — are rather interesting!"
    "Oh, are they?" said the window-cleaner disbelievingly. "Well, let me tell you this..."
    But the children didn't listen to what he had to tell them. They hurried off, rather red in the face.
    "I say! We shall get into trouble if we go squinting at every one to find out if they really are Fatty," said Larry. "Well have to look at people a bit more carefully — I mean, without them knowing it."
    "There he is — I'm sure of it!" said Bets suddenly, as they went over the level-crossing to the river-side, where the side-shows were. "Look — that porter with the moustache. That's Fatty, all right !”
    The porter was wheeling a barrow up the platform, and the others stood and admired him. "He wheels it exactly like a real porter," said Bets. "Why do porters always wear waistcoats and no coats at railway stations?
    I'm sure that's Fatty. It's just the way he walks. And he's plump like Fatty too."
    She raised her voice and hailed the porter. "Hey, Fatty I Fatty!"
    The porter turned round. He set his barrow down on the ground and walked towards them, looking angry.
    "Who are you calling Fatty?" he demanded, his face red under his porter's cap. "You hold your tongue, you cheeky kids!"
    The children stared at him. "It is Fatty," said Bets. "Look, that's just how his hair sticks out when he wears a hat. Fatty I We know it's you !”
    "Now you look here!" said the porter, coming nearer, "if you wasn't a little girl I'd come over and shake you good and proper. Calling