“Perhaps the heat was on,” Jupe said. “He couldn’t afford to have them traced to his property. My guess is he dumped them over the fence at the scrap yard as a temporary measure, thinking they’d be safe there and he could pick them apart later. But somehow they got mixed up with a lot of other junk there, and my Uncle Titus bought them from the yard owners, along with all the long bars and railings.”
“That’s possible,” said Bob. “Mr. Hall could have then asked the yard owners who bought the junk and traced it to your uncle’s junkyard. Olsen and Dobbsie must have known about the bars, too. Now that I think of it, Olsen first asked for bars when he came to your uncle’s yard. Remember?”
Jupe nodded.
“I wonder if one of those men was the mystery buyer,” added Bob.
“Mystery buyer?” asked Pete.
“Yes, the customer who bought the pile of bars and railings from Mrs. Jones when we were making our first visit to Jungle Land. Those bars might have had diamonds in them, too.”
“Naw,” said Pete. “Those bars were awfully heavy — don’t forget I was the one who carried them. And they were much longer than all the cage bars we’ve ever seen.”
“I’m inclined to agree with Pete,” said Jupe. “I don’t think it matters who bought those bars. It was probably an innocent customer. And, if it wasn’t — well, Olsen and Jim Hall both showed up at our yard later, so they couldn’t have found the diamonds earlier.”
“Hey, Jupe,” said Pete. “What about that bar you found last night? Where did that come from?”
“That one could have got loose and fallen out of a cage when Jim Hall was dumping it into the scrap yard. I wish I knew how many cages were involved here. We know what to look for now, but we don’t know how much to look for.”
“All those bars look alike,” Bob put in. “How can anybody tell which is which? When the cages arrive, they’re all in place. How would Jim Hall know which bars have the diamonds his brother Cal inserted?”
Jupe smiled mysteriously. “There’s a way of knowing.”
Bob and Pete looked at him sourly. They knew from past experience that Jupiter would never divulge the last remaining secret to a mystery until the last possible moment.
Bob frowned. “We still haven’t solved the mystery we were called in to investigate,” he said. “Who is making Jim Hall’s lion nervous? And if Mr. Hall is tied in with the diamond smuggling, who’s letting his wild animals escape from their cages? He might lose Jungle Land if there’s an accident.”
“We’ll know the answer to that when we put all the loose ends together,” Jupe said. “It’s possible Jim Hall himself let George out when we got there the first time, as a diversion. He might have let the gorilla loose, too, and pretended to go off looking for him. If you recall, he came right back to where the gorilla really was pretty fast.”
“Bringing Doc Dawson and his stun gun and saving our lives!” Pete said. “I won’t hold that against him.”
“What about this morning?” Bob asked. “Jim Hall was on the movie set with George. He couldn’t have slipped away to let the black panther out, could he? And have Doc Dawson cover up for him and say it was his own fault?”
“It’s possible,” Jupe said thoughtfully. “Doc Dawson might have an idea of what Jim Hall is up to. He might be trying to cover up for him and maybe to protect Mike, as well. Doc Dawson always seems to turn up when he’s needed. That suggests to me that he is aware of the situation, and able to anticipate just what is going to happen next.”
Soon the Rolls-Royce was entering Jungle Land.
“Drop us at the foot of the hill leading to the Halls’ house, Worthington,” ordered Jupe. “I think that we should arrive discreetly.”
The boys walked up to the quiet white house on the hill. As they came close, they stopped to listen.
“Not a sound,” Pete whispered. “Maybe he’s already found the diamonds and cleared out.”
Jupe pushed his lower lip out. “We’ll have to go in, anyway. We owe it to Mike to explain.”
Bob and Pete nodded agreement. Jupe took a step forward and stopped.
“What’s wrong?” whispered Bob.
“I thought I heard something,” Jupe said. “Maybe we’d better check the cage area before we go in.”
He turned and the others followed him into the shadows of the clearing.
“Seems quiet,” Jupe said. “I don’t see — ”
He was interrupted as something heavy was thrown over his head. Bob and Pete were caught the same way. The boys were grasped by strong hands. Their cries were muffled, and although they struggled and kicked, they could not get away from their surprise attackers. Helpless, they were carried along in total darkness.
18
Trapped!
Covered by a heavy blanket, The Three Investigators were unable to make out the voices of their abductors. They were bouncing as if they were being carried over rough terrain. One of their carriers stumbled and complained loudly. Another voice curtly cut him off.
The caravan halted. Ropes were lashed round them. They felt themselves being lifted again and then heaved headlong on to a springy surface. A heavy door thunked shut.
“That oughta keep ’em out of the way,” a voice said.
They heard receding footsteps and then silence. They struggled to straighten themselves, pausing as they heard another sound.
Whup-whup-whup — pp!
They felt themselves being jerked forward, then rocked back abruptly. There was a whining sound and a heavy crunch as if something had grabbed them from both sides. The whining sound became a groan. Suddenly they felt the odd sensation of being lifted.
“Goodness!” Bob exclaimed. “Are we riding in something?”
“Apparently,” Jupe said. “And I don’t like the sound of it. We’d better work fast. Try to slip the blanket off first. That way we won’t suffocate, and we may be able to see where we are — and be heard!”
Following Jupe’s directions, they pushed and pulled in turn. Gradually the heavy blanket over them was tugged down.
“Use your fingers,” Jupe urged. “Keep pulling down and rolling the blanket under you.”
They struggled to get free, their hearts thumping wildly as they heard the menacing sounds all around them. Something chattered and roared beneath them, and from above they heard groaning, creaking sounds that sent chills down their spines.
Suddenly they were rocking in a wide swinging arc.
“It’s the claw!” Pete yelled.
In a last convulsive movement the boys jerked the blanket down from their heads.
They gasped.
Straight ahead they saw nothing but the sky.
Far below was the spread of junked cars in the scrap yard.
At either side were the huge metal talons of the giant claw, gripping the old car that they rode in. They were trapped in the air — and headed for the metal shredder! They began to yell for help, but the huge machine in the shed below started to chatter and scream, roaring out a series of deafening sounds.
Pete shook his head. “No chance! We can’t compete with that monster. Not even if we yell our heads off!”
“Apparently the crane operator can’t see us either,” Jupe cried. “We’ve got to get out of these ropes so we can attract his attention!”
They struggled and rocked but the ropes held tight.
They heard a shrill whistle. Abruptly the giant claw dropped. Then, with a sickening lurch, they were falling to the ground.
They bounced as they hit. Almost immediately, they were jerked forward. They stopped, rocked, and were jerked forward again.
“We’re on the conveyor belt now!” Jupe said. “We don’t have much time. Come on — the metal shredding process takes place right ahead!”