“But you kept the cage outside your house for a while after George moved in, didn’t you?” Jupe persisted.
“Yes, until recently. I made up my mind to get rid of it completely when Jay Eastland came along and wanted to hire George for his movie. I didn’t want him to get the idea George was still a wild animal. From that point on, Jay Eastland saw George only as a well-trained housepet.”
Jupe looked rueful. “I owe you an apology, Mr. Hall. It appears all my deductions and assumptions have proven false.”
“We all make mistakes, Jupe. Maybe it’s time you told me what this is all about.”
Jupe explained from the beginning, starting with the arrival of the cages in The Jones Salvage Yard, and then the man named Olsen. “Mike says he works for Mr. Eastland and is called Dunlop. But he told us his name was Olsen. A thin, hatchet-faced, light-haired man.”
“I don’t know him but I think I’ve seen him around the set,” said Hall.
“He was looking over the scrap heap last night,” Bob said. “Along with a man he called Dobbsie. They talked a lot about the smuggled diamonds. We couldn’t figure out if they were part of a gang or what. They’re the same two who rescued us a while ago when we were on our way into the metal shredder!”
Jim Hall listened carefully. When they had finished telling all they knew, he shook his head. “I’m sorry, boys, but I don’t understand a single part of what you’ve said. Maybe it’s true that these goings on made George upset and nervous. Maybe it’s true that somehow diamonds are being smuggled in here. But I’ll tell you one thing you can bet on,” he added, his eyes flashing. “My brother Cal wouldn’t have a thing to do with anything crooked!”
Jupe nodded and thought a minute. “Can you tell us what other cages you’ve discarded over the past few months?” he asked.
“We threw out two or three old cages a year ago,” Jim Hall said. “But the only one lately was George’s.”
“Apparently that was the start of it, then,” Jupe said thoughtfully. Abruptly he asked, “How is George feeling today?”
Jim Hall smiled. “First rate. He did a good job on the movie set this morning and he’s been fine ever since. He’s inside snoozing now. Doc Dawson was here and gave him a tranquilliser.”
Jupe motioned to his companions. “Well, we’d better be going. We still have some work to do, fellows.”
Mike Hall opened the door. “Come on back again when you can,” he said. “I’m sure Jim doesn’t blame you — ”
“He should,” Jupe said severely. “I had no business making an accusation before I had sufficient evidence. I owe you both an apology, Mike.”
As Jupe went out, his foot caught on the threshold of the door and he stumbled across the porch. He grabbed for the porch post, yelled, and yanked his hand away.
“Oww!” he cried. He looked down at the drop of blood on his finger. “I just caught my finger on a splinter.”
“Gosh, I’m sorry, Jupe,” Mike said. “Come on inside. We’ll find a Band-Aid for you.”
“It’s okay,” Jupe said sheepishly as he went back in the door. He sucked his finger. “Just a little cut.”
Mike snapped his fingers suddenly and pointed. “I was about to say it’s too bad Doc Dawson isn’t around to fix you up. Look—he forgot his medical kit.”
Jupe looked at the worn, black leather bag sitting on a chair. “Would he mind if I helped myself to a bandage?”
“Are you kidding?” Mike said. “That’s what it’s for — emergencies. Help yourself.”
Jupe opened the bag and reached inside for a roll of gauze wrapped neatly in blue paper. Holding it awkwardly, he fumbled with the protective cover. A small yellow piece of paper fluttered out.
Mike picked it up. “Looks like you dropped one of Doc’s prescriptions, Jupe. Here, better put it back.”
Jupe glanced at it automatically as it was handed to him. His lips moved wordlessly and he stared at it pop-eyed.
“What is it, Jupe?” asked Bob.
Jupe shook his head and looked at the scrap of paper again. “I can’t believe it,” he said slowly. Then he sighed a long sigh. “But, of course. Now the whole thing begins to make sense.”
“What can’t you believe?” asked Pete. “What makes sense?”
Jupe held out the scrap of torn paper. “Read it yourself.”
They stared at the paper in Jupe’s hand. It read:
DOX ROX NOX EX REX BOX
Mike looked mystified. “What does it mean?”
“It means a man we never suspected is behind it all,” Jupe said. He shook his head ruefully. “It’s all perfectly clear now.”
“What are you trying to tell us now, Jupe?” asked Jim Hall.
“You won’t like it,” Jupe said. “It’s Doc Dawson.”
Jim Hall smiled thinly. “I don’t think you know what you’re talking about, son. Doc’s an old friend. Let me see that piece of paper.”
As he held out his hand, the front door opened.
A burly figure stood there. Head close-shaven, arm tattooed. “I came to pick up Doc’s bag,” he said. “He forgot it here.”
His eyes narrowed as he saw the open medical bag, and then the small slip of yellow paper in Jupe’s hand. His lips twisted angrily. “I’ll take that, you snooping kid!” he roared.
Before Jupe could move, Bo Jenkins had snatched the paper from his hand. He crumpled it in his huge fist and reached for the leather bag.
Jim Hall spoke up mildly. “Hold it just a second, Bo. There’s something going on here and — ”
Jenkins made a sudden movement and pulled out a gun. “Stay out of it, Hall, if you know what’s good for you. We got it all now and nothin’s stopping us.”
Jupe gulped. “You’re the man who bought all the cages from my uncle — and gave Jim Hall’s name!”
Jenkins grinned. “Wise apple, huh?”
Jim Hall whistled softly as the animal handler grabbed the black bag.
Heavy, padding steps sounded across the room. An ominous rumbling made Jenkins turn and stare. His jaw sagged and he paled.
A large, yellow-eyed lion stood there, head down and long tail twitching restlessly. The growling continued.
Instantly Jupe leaned against the door, closing it.
Jenkins whirled again at the sound, his gun jerking.
“Forget it, Jenkins,” Jim Hall said calmly. “You’re not going anyplace. One more step and George will have you for dinner.” Hall turned to the lion. “Won’t you, George?”
The lion slowly opened its cavernous mouth and moved forward.
There was a clattering sound as the gun fell from Bo Jenkins’s fingers.
“That’s better,” Jim Hall said. He bent forward to retrieve the gun and waved the frightened man to a chair. The lion came forward and stopped at Bo’s side, opening its mouth in a huge yawn.
“Now then, Bo,” Jim Hall said pleasantly. “What can you tell us about some smuggled diamonds?”
20
End of the Puzzle
As they rounded a turn in the trail, Mike pointed ahead to a small house next to a barn. “That’s Doc Dawson’s place,” he said. “The dispensary is in the back.”
Sounds of hammering came from the barn.
Jupe smiled. “That’s one thing he never figured on. When my Uncle Titus has something fixed, he does a very thorough job.”
“What do you mean, Jupe?” asked Mike.
“You’ll see in a minute,” Jupe said mysteriously.
A small pickup truck stood in the driveway by the barn. Alongside it four cages lay tumbled on the ground. The grizzled vet stood next to one with a hammer raised in one hand. In the other he held a long pair of pliers.
He paused as Jim Hall strode up, flanked by the boys. His eyes nicked past them and narrowed.