A shout in the corridor interrupted him.
“The Prince!” the cry went up. “Long live the Prince!”
Then Djaro himself appeared. He was pale, but his eyes glowed. He entered the cell, and they all squeezed back to make room for him.
“My American friends!” he exclaimed, and embraced each of them. “You saved the day. Ringing the bell of Prince Paul was an inspiration. How did you come to think of it?”
“Jupiter did it,” Rudy spoke up. “We were so busy thinking of radio and television and newspapers as the only way to get a message to the people, we never thought of the bell.”
“You told us,” Jupiter said to Djaro, “that your ancestor Prince Paul used the bell to summon aid in the revolution of 1675. Since then the bell has only been used on royal occasions. But I thought that this was the time to use it for an alarm again.
“After all, bells are centuries older than radio and television, and even newspapers. They’ve always been used to summon people, to signal curfew, to warn of danger, and so on. Therefore — ”
Again he was unable to finish. Djaro laughed happily and clapped him on the back.
“You did splendidly!” he cried. “Prince Paul himself would have been proud of you. Duke Stefan is in jail under guard and the plot — which I learned was far graver than I ever realized — is smashed. I have ordered the bell of Prince Paul to ring until nightfall as a signal of victory. So all is well, even though the silver spider of Varania is still lost.”
“A bell rings for victory,” Jupiter muttered, and for a moment his jaw dropped. Then he snapped to attention.
“Prince Djaro,” he said, “I think I have deduced where the silver spider is. But to find it we have to go to the palace.”
Fifteen minutes later they were riding in Prince Djaro’s car through cheering crowds that blocked the streets. Prince Djaro had to bow and wave constantly, as the car inched along. But at last they reached the palace, and the bedroom that had been assigned to The Three Investigators. Pete, Jupiter, Bob, and Prince Djaro went inside.
“Now,” Jupiter said, “to test my deduction. I’m almost sure it is correct, because everywhere else has been searched. There is only one place the spider could be. I may be wrong, but — ”
“Less talk and more action!” Pete groaned. “This is no time to make a speech. Show us!”
“All right.” Jupiter turned toward the corner of the room. He got down on his hands and knees and crawled slowly toward the big spider web that still hung from the bed to the wall.
A large black and gold spider scuttled away from him and disappeared in the crack between the floor and the wainscoting. Another black and gold spider watched Jupiter from the crack with beady eyes.
Jupiter stretched out his hand carefully. He slid it under the web, breaking only a few strands. They all expected the second spider to retreat, but it didn’t. Jupiter caught it with the tip of his finger and edged it out from the crack. He pulled it beneath the web, stood up, and extended his palm to Djaro.
“Look!” he said.
“The silver spider of Varania!” Prince Djaro cried, taking it. “You found it!”
“I finally deduced where it was,” Jupiter told him. “You see, just as the guards were hammering on the door and Rudy was urging us to flee, Bob had a brilliant inspiration.”
“I did?” Bob asked doubtfully. He wished he could remember having it.
“Yes, except that you forgot all about it when you bumped your head on the balcony. You realized that the one place people wouldn’t expect to find an artificial spider was near a real spider web. So you slid the silver spider into the crack behind the web. We all saw it when we were searching the room and none of us thought a thing about it. Though I should have realized two spiders don’t share the same web.”
“Brojas, Bob! Well done!” exclaimed Djaro, clapping him on the back. “I knew I could count on you, my American friends.”
Jupiter continued. “It was only when you, Prince Djaro, mentioned the bell ringing for victory that it came to me. Last night Old Anton, the gypsy king, made a very strange remark. He told Duke Stefan he heard a bell ringing for victory, and that the spider, though silver, was only a spider.
“I don’t know what Old Anton’s powers are, but somehow he knew more than he told. The bell ringing for victory, of course, turned out to be ringing for you. And I realized that if a spider was only a spider, we should look for it where we’d look for any other spider — near a spider web.”
It was a long speech, but this time no one stopped him. When he had finished, he took a deep breath.
“So you see,” he finished, “I don’t deserve much credit. In fact — ”
“You deserve all the credit I can give you!” Djaro cried delightedly. He carefully wrapped the silver spider of Varania in his handkerchief and put it in his pocket. “I can’t show my appreciation fully, but I’ll do the best I can right here and now.”
From his other pocket he pulled out three beautifully wrought spiders of plain silver, on silver chains.
“Stand in a row, please,” he directed The Three Investigators, and when they did, he hung a silver spider around each one’s neck.
“Now,” he grinned, “you are all three members of the Order of the Silver Spider. It is the highest decoration in my power, and given only to those who do something exceptional for Varania. It can only be worn by Varanians, so I hereby proclaim that all three of you are honorary citizens of my country. Now, what more can I do to show my gratitude? Ask me anything in my power.”
“Well — ” Jupe began.
But it was Pete who spoke for them. “Could we have something to eat?” he asked.
17
A Final Word From AlfredHitchcock
THERE’S NOT MUCH MORE to add to the story of The Three Investigators and the silver spider of Varania. To the enthusiastic approval of Varania, Prince Djaro was crowned and took over the reins of power right away, without waiting for the elaborate ceremonies that had been planned. Duke Stefan and his co-conspirators were jailed, and the foreigners who were planning to turn Varania into a paradise for criminals were captured trying to escape and were given long sentences.
The Three Investigators’ part in the overthrow of the sinister plot was not made public for reasons of national security. But Jupiter, Pete and Bob thoroughly enjoyed the coronation and then hurried back home. They took with them Prince Djaro’s warmest thanks and an invitation to come back sometime for a longer visit, which the boys hope to do.
Unfortunately, they weren’t allowed to keep their camera-radios, but they were happy to bring home the decorations they were given by Prince Djaro — the Order of the Silver Spider. Since then they have had an entirely new attitude toward spiders, most of which are hard-working little creatures who help keep down the insect population.
The Three Investigators are once again on the lookout for leads to new and interesting mysteries. I’m sure one will come their way soon, though for the life of me I can’t imagine what adventure they’ll get into next. The only thing I know for sure is that it will be hair-raising!
THE END
