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CHAPTER XXI
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Convincing the Police

The boys headed for police headquarters. They undertook their task with trepidation1, wondering how they would be received, feeling that possibly it was an unwise course to take, that perhaps if they tried they might capture the gangsters2 themselves without having to be ridiculed3 by unbelieving police. And coming to think of it, all the evidence at their command was flimsy, in many cases unreasonable4 and illogical. Besides, they were youngsters, and if they narrated5 all the events, they would be considered mentally distorted. The fact that they were perfectly7 normal and were sincere and truthful8 was beside the point. It was whether they would be able to convince that would tell the tale.

They were very silent as they walked down Main Street toward police headquarters. Each one was thinking his own thoughts about the past week. Jack9 asked himself what the best approach might be. Paul tried hard to think how to narrate6 the story so that it would sound convincing, and in his mind he went over the words and phrases that he thought would be most suitable to use. Ken10 was thinking that with the police entering the[179] case it would be soon ended and their mystery solved. But would it be?

Suppose the gang of counterfeiters were caught, what then? The boys had started out to solve the mystery of the white card—who was responsible for leading Betty away to the end of the town? Who was responsible for the fires? Who was responsible for the robbery at Professor Link’s? And these three things were linked together by virtue12 of the white card. The boys felt so convinced of the white card as a clue, that if it were found to be not so, they would be badly disappointed.

Jack muttered skeptically, “I hope we don’t get thrown out before we get a chance to see Chief Bates.”

Ken assured his friend, “Oh, you’ll see him all right. The important thing is, can you convince him?”

Paul laughed and joked, “Whether we convince him or not, wouldn’t it be a fine predicament if to crown all our effort and glory, Chief Bates throws us into jail.”

“What for?” demanded Ken.

“For any number of reasons,” answered Paul. “He might put us away to cool us off. Or he might jail us for doing detective work without a license13.”

“You don’t need a license to be an amateur detective,” argued Ken.

[180]

“Amateur is a perfect word for it,” ironically commented Jack. “He will think we are a bunch of amateurs running wild.”

“Well, let’s not anticipate his reception of us. The chief might give us a bunch of onions for a prize and that would be something,” remarked Paul.

“I’m hungry,” exclaimed Ken. “Let’s go in for an ice cream soda14.”

“That’s the perfect idea,” agreed Paul. “And I hope it will put us into the right spirit.”

“Most likely it will cool us off,” remarked Jack. “But I’ll also have a soda.”

They entered a drugstore and ordered three ice cream sodas15. As Jack said, it cooled them off, but it also picked them up in spirits. They emerged smiling, cheerful, confident. The police headquarters was a short distance away and they were soon in front of the building. They hesitated before entering. Each one of them felt his heart sink low and his pulse begin to throb16. Paul shrugged17 his shoulders and commented, “Well, as the saying goes, faint heart never won fair maiden18. Let’s go in.”

They entered the hall. At one side was a desk with a sergeant19 behind it. “Yes, boys,” he called to them, “What do you want?”

Ken said, “I want to see Chief Bates; my name is Ken, Ken Armstrong.”

The policeman smiled patiently. “The chief is[181] very busy, you know, and unless you have important business with him, you can’t see him.”

Jack piped up, “Oh, it’s very important.”

Paul pulled his friend away. Ken said confidently, “Oh, he will see me all right. You see, he knows me. Just say that Ken Armstrong wants to see him.”

“And what shall I say is your business with him?” inquired the sergeant, amused at the boy’s self confidence.

“It’s personal. Just say I would like to see him.”

The policeman nodded and very lazily picked up his telephone. “Hello, hello,” he called into the speaker, “give me the chief’s office.” He waited for several seconds, in the meanwhile looking the boys up and down. Again he spoke20 into the mouthpiece, saying, “There’s a boy here by the name of Ken Armstrong who wants to see the chief. Says that the chief knows him and will surely—most surely—see him.” The policeman scowled21 as he said that. Again he waited for an answer. Several seconds later, he answered, “All right.”

He hung up the receiver and turned to Ken. “I guess he knows you all right.” Ken was overjoyed while his two friends were glad and cheerful. “Go down to the end of the corridor,” directed the sergeant, “and then turn left. On the[182] door that says Police Chief, go in there and his secretary will take care of you.”

“Thank you,” said Ken.

The three boys walked down the corridor and turned left. They entered the office of the Chief of Police and his secretary, a very attractive young woman, greeted them. “Which of you is Ken?” she asked.

Ken spoke up. “I am.”

“Very well. Have a seat and Mr. Bates will see you in a few minutes. He is busy just now.”

The boys sat down and the secretary returned to her desk and typewriter. To the boys it seemed that she typed faster than the eye could follow. They looked around the room and noticed the various pictures and other office furniture. Every moment was to them an hour. Jack was sure that the chief would take one look at them and then throw them out of his office. Paul wondered how it happened Ken was acquainted with Chief Bates and made a mental note to ask his friend about it.

A buzzer22 sounded in the room and the boys jumped up. The secretary nodded and said, “You can go in now, Ken.”

Ken proceeded toward the door, followed by his friends. The secretary stopped them. “I thought only Ken was going in?”

“Oh, no,” he replied. “These are friends of mine and they are coming in with me.”

[183]

The young woman shrugged her shoulders. “Very well,” she said, “go right in.”

Ken knocked on the door and someone called loudly, “Come in.”

They entered. Behind a large desk toward the rear of the room sat Chief Bates. He was a man of about forty-five, well-set, husky and strong. He called out, “Hello Ken. I’m glad to see you.”

“Hello, Chief,” Ken answered, “these are friends of mine. I hope you don’t mind—”

“No, not at all. Pull up chairs, boys.” He leaned back in his swivel chair. When they were seated, he said, “Well what is it, Ken. But I warn you, I don’t have much time, so you better talk quickly.”

Ken said, “We are here to ask you a favor, Chief.”

“Anything within reason, Ken,” shot back the chief, “and I’ll do it.”

“The favor is,” continued Ken, “that you listen to something very, very important.”

“Very, very important,” added Jack.

Ken turned to Paul and said, “You tell him, Paul.”

Paul drew up his chair and leaned on the desk. He began, “You see, Chief, what we are going to tell you may sound very fantastic but I want you to believe that we are telling the truth and that we are not inventing anything.”

[184]

“Go on, go on,” urged the chief, nonchalantly leaning back in his chair.

“Well, to begin with,” continued Paul, “we have discovered a gang of counterfeiters—”

The chief almost jumped out of his seat. He flew forward to the desk and cried, “You have what? What are you talking about? Are you telling me stories or something?”

Paul felt his confidence shaking. He realized that the chief was a terror and would be hard to convince, but, he said to himself, he had to be convinced. “You see,” he said, “already you think we are telling you some fictionized story or trying to shock you. Please listen, it’s very important, and if you want to catch the gang, you have to act quickly.”

“Go on, go on,” said the chief, leaning on his desk.

“At 752 York Street, there is an empty house. In the cellar of that house you will find a printing press and all the things necessary to make counterfeit11 money.”

“How do you know all that?” demanded the chief.

“We were in there; we saw everything.”

“And how did you happen to be in there?”

The chief shot his questions like arrows and Paul began to waver; he was becoming confused. “That’s a long story, Chief,” he said, “and I am trying to come to the point directly.”

[185]

“Never mind, tell me the whole story.”

“But Chief Bates, that would take too long and it is important that you act quickly. The point of the story is that there are a gang of counterfeiters operating in the cellar of the empty house at 752 York Street. There is also a tunnel leading from that cellar to the cellar of the house in the rear of 752 York Street. That’s how they get in and out without being noticed.”

“But, my dear boy,” exclaimed the chief, irritated, “how do you know all that? Do you have any evidence? How am I to believe that what you are telling me is not a hoax23 of some sort?”

Jack jumped to his feet, impatient and exasperated24. “Why don’t you go down there and find out?” he cried.

He shoved his hands deep into his pockets. Paul began to say something, but the next instant Jack jumped up and cried, “Here, here is your evidence. Look at this. When we were down there, there were a number of such bills on the table and I put this one into my pocket.”

The chief picked up the fake five dollar bill that Jack had thrown on the desk and examined it carefully. He rose and walked to the door and called to his secretary. “Tell Jim Spencer I want to see him right away.”

He returned to his swivel chair and said to the boys, “Now fellows, I am not doubting your story; on the contrary, I think that you may be[186] telling the truth. But you understand that I have to question you closely.” He paused and the boys looked relieved; they even smiled happily. “In the meanwhile, I do wish you would tell me the whole story, from beginning to end, how you happened to discover this gang and all that.”

Paul looked at his friends and they nodded to him. Jack said, “Go on, Paul, tell him. But it will take a long time, though, Chief.”

The Chief of Police nodded. “That’s all right. I’m a good listener.”

Just then a tall, husky man entered the office and said, “You called for me, Chief?”

“Yes. Take a look at this.” And the chief gave Jim Spencer the counterfeit bill.

The detective quickly and expertly glanced at the bill and announced, “It’s fake, all right, Chief. Very clever work, though. Most likely the work of Moonshine Charlie.”

“You know what these boys are telling me, Jim?” asked the Chief. The detective shook his head and Bates continued, “They say that they have located the gang, have been down in their hangout and all they want now, I guess, is for us to step in and clean the gang up, isn’t that so, fellows?”

“That’s right,” cried Jack. “And you had better hurry, too.”

“Very interesting,” commented Jim Spencer. “How did they happen to discover it all?”

[187]

“That’s just what I’m trying to get out of them,” answered the chief, “but it’s like pulling teeth. Sit down and listen to the story.” To Paul, he said, “All right, go on with your story.”

“Well,” began the boy, “how it all began may sound a little fantastic. But you remember, Chief, that a week ago today, Ken’s little sister, Betty, disappeared for about an hour. Jack happened to be on Leonard Street at the moment and he saw her. He couldn’t understand what she was doing there, but after questioning her for some time, she told him that a tall man bought her candy and then took her for a walk and then he left her all alone at almost the end of the town.”

“And so you three became detectives and undertook to find the man, isn’t that so?” commented the chief, smiling.

“Yes, but wait a minute. This man had given Betty a blank, white card.”

“Here it is,” cried Jack, and threw the card on the desk.

The chief and the detective glanced at it casually25. “Go on,” said the chief.

“Several days later,” continued Paul, “there was a fire on Water Street and—”

“Yes. I remember that,” said the chief. “And you very bravely ran into the burning house and saved an old couple and an infant. That was a very brave deed, my boy.”

“The important thing,” said Paul, “is that in[188] the door of the room where the infant was, I found another card like that.” He searched in his pocket and produced the evidence. The chief and the detective examined the two cards. “And to make a long story short,” continued Paul, “there was a robbery at Professor Link’s and—”

“And you found another such card,” said the chief, interrupting.

“Yes.”

“But that is no evidence; it means nothing,” said the chief. “You can find cards like these everywhere you go, by the dozen.”

“Well, that may be so,” said Paul. “But to us it was evidence, and we figured that the same man committed all the three crimes. And we decided26 to track him down.”

“Why didn’t you come to us and tell us?” demanded Chief Bates.

Paul was perspiring27. He was very tense and he felt that he was being hindered rather than helped. “Well, I don’t know,” he remarked, “I guess we didn’t think of it.”

“Didn’t think of it!” exclaimed the chief.

Jack saw how his friend was suffering and he jumped to his feet and cried, “What difference does all that make? The important thing is that we discovered the gang of counterfeiters and if you don’t act quickly they will escape.”

“I’m sorry for interrupting,” said the chief, somewhat embarrassed. “Go on with your story.”

[189]

“Well, we came across this man. To us he is known as Mr. Grey. And—”

“And how did you come across him and how did you know it was he?”

“There are a lot of little details that I’m leaving out to make the story short. At any rate, Jack followed him one night to the empty house at 752 York Street. We searched the house several times until we found the secret door to the cellar. And that’s the end of the story.”

“Well, there are some other things too, but we can tell you that later.”

The chief and the detective eyed each other. Detective Spencer asked, “Do you happen by any chance to know any of the members of this counterfeit gang?”

Paul nodded. “Yes,” he answered. “The fellow they call the boss and who seems to be the chief is a big, fat, dark featured individual. The—”

Chief Bates and the detective exclaimed simultaneously28, “Moonshine Charlie!”

“Two other men call themselves Pete and Joe. Another member of the gang is a man who runs a grocery store at Main and Jones Streets.”

“Don’t forget Mr. Grey,” added Jack.

Paul nodded and said, “That’s right, and Mr. Grey. That’s all we know.”

“That’s plenty,” cried Jim Spencer. “Where is their hangout?”

“At 752 York Street; in the cellar.”

[190]

Just then they were interrupted by the entrance of the secretary, who said, “A gentleman to see you, Mr. Bates. He—”

The man was directly behind her and he said, “Never mind telling who I am and what my business is. I’ll do it myself.”

Everybody looked at the speaker. The boys jumped to their feet as if they had been touched by an electric spark. Simultaneously, they all cried, “Mr. Grey!”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 trepidation igDy3     
n.惊恐,惶恐
参考例句:
  • The men set off in fear and trepidation.这群人惊慌失措地出发了。
  • The threat of an epidemic caused great alarm and trepidation.流行病猖獗因而人心惶惶。
2 gangsters ba17561e907047df78d78510bfbc2b09     
匪徒,歹徒( gangster的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The gangsters offered him a sum equivalent to a whole year's earnings. 歹徒提出要给他一笔相当于他一年收入的钱。
  • One of the gangsters was caught by the police. 歹徒之一被警察逮捕。
3 ridiculed 81e89e8e17fcf40595c6663a61115a91     
v.嘲笑,嘲弄,奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Biosphere 2 was ultimately ridiculed as a research debade, as exfravagant pseudoscience. 生物圈2号最终被讥讽为科研上的大失败,代价是昂贵的伪科学。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She ridiculed his insatiable greed. 她嘲笑他的贪得无厌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 unreasonable tjLwm     
adj.不讲道理的,不合情理的,过度的
参考例句:
  • I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
  • They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。
5 narrated 41d1c5fe7dace3e43c38e40bfeb85fe5     
v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
6 narrate DFhxR     
v.讲,叙述
参考例句:
  • They each narrate their own tale but are all inextricably linked together.她们各自讲述自己的故事,却又不可避免地联系在一起。
  • He once holds the tear to narrate a such story to mine.他曾经含着泪给我讲述了这样的一个故事。
7 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
8 truthful OmpwN     
adj.真实的,说实话的,诚实的
参考例句:
  • You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心,他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
  • I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。
9 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
10 ken k3WxV     
n.视野,知识领域
参考例句:
  • Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
  • Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.
11 counterfeit 1oEz8     
vt.伪造,仿造;adj.伪造的,假冒的
参考例句:
  • It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
  • The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远,实际是最近的一幅赝品。
12 virtue BpqyH     
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力
参考例句:
  • He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
  • You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。
13 license B9TzU     
n.执照,许可证,特许;v.许可,特许
参考例句:
  • The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
  • The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。
14 soda cr3ye     
n.苏打水;汽水
参考例句:
  • She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
  • I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。
15 sodas c10ddd4eedc33e2ce63fa8dfafd61880     
n.苏打( soda的名词复数 );碱;苏打水;汽水
参考例句:
  • There are plenty of sodas in the refrigerator. 冰箱里有很多碳酸饮料。 来自辞典例句
  • Two whisky and sodas, please. 请来两杯威士忌苏打。 来自辞典例句
16 throb aIrzV     
v.震颤,颤动;(急速强烈地)跳动,搏动
参考例句:
  • She felt her heart give a great throb.她感到自己的心怦地跳了一下。
  • The drums seemed to throb in his ears.阵阵鼓声彷佛在他耳边震响。
17 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 maiden yRpz7     
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的
参考例句:
  • The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
  • The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。
19 sergeant REQzz     
n.警官,中士
参考例句:
  • His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
  • How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹?
20 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
21 scowled b83aa6db95e414d3ef876bc7fd16d80d     
怒视,生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。
  • The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。
22 buzzer 2x7zGi     
n.蜂鸣器;汽笛
参考例句:
  • The buzzer went off at eight o'clock.蜂鸣器在8点钟时响了。
  • Press the buzzer when you want to talk.你想讲话的时候就按蜂鸣器。
23 hoax pcAxs     
v.欺骗,哄骗,愚弄;n.愚弄人,恶作剧
参考例句:
  • They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
  • They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。
24 exasperated ltAz6H     
adj.恼怒的
参考例句:
  • We were exasperated at his ill behaviour. 我们对他的恶劣行为感到非常恼怒。
  • Constant interruption of his work exasperated him. 对他工作不断的干扰使他恼怒。
25 casually UwBzvw     
adv.漠不关心地,无动于衷地,不负责任地
参考例句:
  • She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
  • I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。
26 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
27 perspiring 0818633761fb971685d884c4c363dad6     
v.出汗,流汗( perspire的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • He had been working hard and was perspiring profusely. 他一直在努力干活,身上大汗淋漓的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • So they "went it lively," panting and perspiring with the work. 于是他们就“痛痛快快地比一比”了,结果比得两个人气喘吁吁、汗流浃背。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
28 simultaneously 4iBz1o     
adv.同时发生地,同时进行地
参考例句:
  • The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
  • The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。


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