“No, sir,” said Jupiter. “We have no idea where he went after he left the salvage yard yesterday.”
“He sent you here!” The accusation was curt.
“No!” cried Bob.
“Do not tell me fairy tales about wandering in the chaparral!” shouted the general. He beckoned to his associate. “Demetrieff! Your gun, if you please!”
The man handed the weapon to the general.
“You know what to do,” said Kaluk harshly.
Demetrieff nodded and began to unbuckle his belt.
“Hey, wait a minute!” shouted Bob.
“You will remain seated,” said General Kaluk. “Demetrieff, take the fat one who talks so well. I want to hear him talk more.”
Demetrieff went around behind the bunk on which Jupe and Bob were seated. Jupiter felt the leather of the belt settle around his head.
“Now you will tell me about The Potter,” said the general. “Where is he?”
The belt tightened on Jupiter’s head.
“I don’t know,” said Jupiter.
“He simply walked away from your . . . your salvage yard and was not seen again?” The general was almost sneering.
“That’s what happened.”
The belt tightened some more.
“And he was expecting guests–these friends you speak of–these friends to whom you were so helpful.”
“That’s right.”
“And your police have done nothing?” demanded Kaluk. “They have not looked for this man who walked away?”
“It’s a free country,” said Jupiter. “If The Potter chooses to walk away, he is entitled to do so.”
“A free country?” The general blinked and ran a hand over his hairless chin. “Yes. Yes, I have heard that before. He said nothing to you? You swear it?”
“He said nothing,” declared Jupiter. He stared straight at the general, unblinking.
“I see.” The general stood up and walked to Jupiter. He looked at him for half a minute, then sighed. “Very well, Demetrieff. We will let them go. He is telling the truth.”
The younger man protested. “It’s mad! Too much of a coincidence!”
The general shrugged. “A pair of children, curious as all children are curious. They know nothing.”
The belt was removed from Jupiter’s head. Bob, who had not realized that he was holding his breath, let out a great gasp of relief.
“We should call your excellent police, who do not look for people,” snapped Demetrieff. “We should tell them that you have broken the law. You have trespassed on this property.”
“You talk about breaking the law!” exclaimed Bob. “If we told what happened here tonight . . .”
“You will not tell,” said the general. “What really happened tonight? I asked about a famous artisan, and you informed me that you did not know his whereabouts. What could be more natural? The man has achieved some fame. He has been written about in your periodicals. As for this–” the general tossed the gun in his hand–“as for this, Mr Demetrieff has a permit for the gun, and you were trespassing. Nothing has occurred. We are being generous. You may go now, and do not return.”
Bob was up instantly, pulling Jupiter along with him.
“You will find it convenient to use the lane,” said the general. “And remember, we will be watching you go.”
The boys did not speak until they were away from the house and hurrying down the drive that led from Hilltop House to the highway.
“Never again!” exclaimed Bob.
Jupiter looked up and back at the stone buttress of the terrace. Demetrieff and the general stood there, plain in the moonlight, motionless and watching.
“Malignant pair,” said Jupiter. “I have a distinct feeling that General Kaluk has presided over other inquisitions.”
“If you mean he’s used to giving the third degree to people, I couldn’t agree more,” said Bob. “Nice that you have an honest face.”
“It was even nicer to be able to tell the truth,” said Jupiter.
“Yeah! You did that, didn’t you?”
“I tried. One can consider one’s daughter a friend from the Midwest.”
The road curved then, and Hilltop House was lost to sight behind a clump of brush on the boys’ left. And then, from lower on the hill, there was a muffled sound and a flash of flame. Something, or some things, whizzed over Bob’s head and spattered into the brush.
“Get down!” cried Jupiter.
Bob dropped on his face, Jupe beside him. The two waited, not daring to move. There was a crackling in the underbrush off to the right. Then there was quiet, except for the scolding of some night bird.
“Buckshot?” wondered Bob.
“I think so,” Jupiter decided. He got to his hands and knees and crawled forward until they had rounded yet another turn in the lane. Bob followed him. When they had gone perhaps fifty yards in this fashion, both boys leaped up and sprinted for the main road.
The gate at the bottom of the drive was closed. They did not pause to see whether the lock was in place. Jupe climbed over and Bob hurdled the barrier in one leap. The two raced down the road to The Potter’s gate and burst through that, stopping only when they had reached the shelter of The Potter’s front porch.
“That shot!” gasped Jupiter. “It couldn’t have come from Hilltop House. Demetrieff and the general were standing on the terrace there as we came around the bend in the road.” He stopped to let his breathing quiet. Then, “Someone was waiting on the hill with a gun. Bob, there’s a third man involved!”
11
The Ghost Returns
JUPITER JONES had his hand on the doorbell of The Potter’s house when a window upstairs was thrown open and Eloise Dobson’s voice called out.
“Who’s there?” Mrs Dobson demanded.
Jupiter stepped back away from the door and out from under the roof of the porch. “It’s Jupiter Jones, Mrs Dobson. And Bob Andrews is with me.”
“Oh,” she said. “Just a second.”
The window slammed shut. An instant later, Jupe and Bob heard locks turning and bolts being drawn back. The door opened and Pete looked out.
“What’s up?” he demanded.
“Let us in, and keep calm,” said Jupiter in a low voice.
“I am calm. What’s the matter?”
Jupe and Bob stepped into the hall. “I don’t want to alarm Mrs Dobson unnecessarily,” said Jupiter quickly, “but the men at Hilltop House–”
Jupiter broke off when Mrs Dobson appeared at the top of the stairs and started down. “Did you hear a loud bang a minute ago, Jupiter?” she asked. “Like a shot?”
“It was only a backfire on the road,” said Jupiter quickly. “Mrs Dobson, you haven’t met our friend, Bob Andrews.”
“How do you do, Mrs Dobson,” said Bob.
Mrs Dobson smiled and came the rest of the way down the stairs. “I’m glad to meet you, Bob,” she said. “What brings you two here so late?”
Tom Dobson came down the stairs carrying a tray piled with empty cups. “Hey, Jupe!” he said.
Again Jupiter introduced Bob.
“Aha!” said Tom. “The Third Investigator!”
“The what?” said Mrs Dobson.
“Nothing, Mum,” said Tom. “It’s just a joke. Kind of.”
“Hm!” Mrs Dobson looked at her son in the searching manner peculiar to mothers. “We can do without jokes right now,” she said. “What are you boys up to? It’s not that I don’t appreciate your trouble. It’s very nice to have Pete spend the night with us, but let’s not have any secrets, huh?”
“I’m sorry, Mrs Dobson,” said Jupiter. “Bob and I hadn’t planned to come here tonight. However, we went hiking along the path at the top of the hill, and we could not help but notice the men at Hilltop House.”
Bob choked.
Jupiter continued calmly. “Hilltop House is the big place almost directly behind this house, but up near the crest of the hill. Two new tenants moved into the place yesterday, and from their terrace they can look directly into the back bedrooms in this house. The thought came to us that you would wish to know of this, so that you can keep the window blinds down.”
“Oh, that’s just great!” Mrs Dobson sat down on the stairs. “Makes the day perfect. First we get flaming footprints, then that nut from the inn, and now a couple of Peeping Toms.”
“Nut from the inn?” questioned Bob. “What nut, from what inn?”
“Guy named Farrier,” answered Pete. “He popped up about half an hour ago, said he wanted to see if Mrs Dobson and Tom got moved in okay, and was there anything he could do for them?”
“The jolly fisherman,” said Jupiter.
“Too jolly for words,” said Mrs Dobson. “For some reason, he gives me the creeps. Why’s he trying so hard? He smiles so much my face aches just watching him, and he’s always so darned . . . so darned . . .”
“Splendid?” said Jupiter.
“I guess you could say splendid.” Mrs Dobson put her chin in her hands and rested her elbows on her knees. “He looks like . . . well, like one of those dummies in a department store. I don’t think he sweats. Anyhow, he tried to invite himself in for coffee. I told him I was planning to lie down with a cold cloth on my head, and he took the hint and went away.”