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CHAPTER XXVII
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Mystery of the White Card

The boys were at the Morrison home waiting for Mr. Grey to appear. They had hundreds of questions to ask him and they hoped that he would clear up the mystery of the white card. But if he did not, they would be at a loss as to what to do next. They would either have to give up or commence their investigation1 all over again, and they were rather tired of the thing by now. Jack2 remarked, “I still can’t understand how we happened to come upon Mr. Grey and follow him. I don’t suppose he had anything to do with the mystery of the white card.”

“But it was you who originally began to follow him,” said Ken3.

“That’s right. But now that I think of it, I can’t understand how I happened to pick on him.”

“Betty described the man who took her for a walk as tall and thin,” interposed Paul.

“Yes, but there are many tall, thin men in town,” argued Jack.

“And we came to the conclusion that the man who would start fires and steal a single book must be a maniac4 of some sort.”

Jack laughed. “Well, does Mr. Grey look like a maniac?” he asked.

[230]

Paul smiled and remarked, “Well, he does look rather odd, tall and thin as he is.”

“All that doesn’t get us anywhere,” said Jack.

“Well, let’s not come to any conclusions but wait until Mr. Grey comes,” remarked Paul.

“Yes, he’ll clear it all up for us.”

About ten minutes later, the government agent arrived. He looked like a changed man, dressed in a summer linen5 suit and his hair combed neatly6 back. “Hello, fellows,” he greeted as he entered.

“Hello, Mr. Grey,” returned Paul. “Won’t you sit down?”

“Well, I’ll try,” he said as he took a seat, “but I’m afraid you fellows are going to question me so much, you’ll have me standing7 on my head.”

“Then we’ll turn you over and sit you down again,” spoke8 up Jack.

“Now, Mr. Grey,” began Paul, “and by the way, is that your real name?”

“No, of course not. My name is George Wilson.”

“Well, Mr. Wilson, we are mystified by a certain little thing,” continued Paul, “and I wonder if you can clear it for us.”

“Try me and we’ll see.”

“The mystery of the white card,” Jack blurted9 out. “What is it all about?”

“What white card?” asked the agent mystified.

“You don’t know?” cried Ken.

The man shook his head in complete ignorance.[231] “I’ll faint,” cried Jack, falling back in his chair and pretending that he was actually fainting.

“Tell me what it is all about,” asked the government agent. “I don’t even know what you are talking about.”

“And we thought that you could give us the solution,” commented Jack. “Now what are we going to do?”

“Will you please let me in on it?” Mr. Wilson asked for the second time.

“It’s like this,” began Paul, again explaining the whole thing, this time for the benefit of Mr. Wilson. “About ten days ago, Ken’s little sister, Betty, disappeared. Jack happened to find her all the way out on Leonard Street. Questioning her, he found that a man had bought her candy, taken her for a walk and left her there after he gave her a blank white card.”

“May I see the card?” asked Mr. Wilson.

Paul took it out of his pocket and showed it to him. The agent glanced at it and then said, “Go on.”

“Well, several days later there happened to be a fire on Water Street and I rushed into the building. To make the story short, inside that burning house I found another white card, an exact duplicate of the first one.”

“What?” asked Mr. Wilson, his curiosity now aroused. “And then what?”

“That isn’t all,” continued Paul. “The next day[232] a robbery occurred at Professor Link’s and all that was taken was a single book out of the library. And what’s more, the same white card was left.”

“But the point of the story is,” intervened Ken, “we thought all along that you were the guilty person and that is how Jack began to follow you.”

“I!” cried the agent, aghast. “How do I come in on this?”

“Well, sir,” spoke up Jack, “it was really all my fault. After talking the thing over, we came to the conclusion that only a,—er,—a maniac sort of person would do anything like that.”

“And you took me for a maniac?” cried the agent, bursting out laughing. “That’s a good one.”

“I don’t think so,” replied Jack.

“No, I agree with you,” said Mr. Wilson. “I don’t think it’s quite the thing to be taken for a maniac. But go on.”

“Well, sir,” continued Jack, “I began to follow you. And the first night I followed you out to Waters Street, to the exact spot where the fire occurred, and ...”

“But you must be wrong,” cried Mr. Wilson, “because I don’t even know where Waters Street is.”

“You don’t know?” demanded Jack leaping out of his seat.

The other boys also were by now out of their[233] seats and staring dumbly at Mr. Wilson. The agent said, “I remember that I was once followed by one of you, I couldn’t say who. But I shook him off quickly. Then I also remember that Paul approached me one day and asked me where Jones Street was and I told him.”

“My God!” cried Jack, “I have followed the wrong man all the time.”

“Wait a minute,” Paul said tensely. “You haven’t followed the wrong man. On the contrary. You know what?” They all looked at him curiously10. “There is a man in this town who looks very much like you, Mr. Wilson, and I am convinced that he is the guilty party.”

“Now that is interesting,” commented the agent. “I should certainly like to meet him.”

“Now let me ask you this,” said Paul. “You don’t know anything about the fires nor about the robbery at Professor Link’s, do you?”

“I most certainly don’t.”

“Was it you who saved us when Jack and I were prisoners in the cellar?”

“Yes, that was me.”

“Well, wait a minute,” interrupted Ken. “Suppose you tell us how you knew that the boys were being held there and how you came to know Harriman and how you came to be a member of the gang?”

“It’s this way, fellows,” began Mr. Wilson. “I was put on this case and I followed the gang to[234] this town. Looking around for a room I hired one over the grocery store, from Harriman. At the time I did not know that he was a member of the gang, but I soon found it out. Through him, I came upon the gang. I became friends with Harriman and did him a few favors. From then on, he trusted me. After I got on their trail, I waited to get them with the goods—that is, they were then only experimenting and not yet turning out counterfeit11 money. Just as soon as they ran off some fake greenbacks, I got into action.”

“How did you know, then, that we were being held in the cellar of the empty house?” asked Paul.

“You see, the gang had a room in the hotel. And I had a room next door. And when Joe came and told Moonshine Charlie of holding you prisoners, I rushed down and freed you.”

“That’s plenty funny,” commented Jack. “If it was not you whom I was following all the time, who then was it?”

“That is something I should like to know myself,” replied the agent.

“Another thing, Mr. Wilson,” said Paul. “Four days ago, I followed Harriman. On the street, I noticed you—or was it you—passing him and you nodded to each other. Now was it you or was it not you?”

“No, it could not have been me,” was the answer, “because I remember distinctly that I was[235] at the hotel at the time listening in on Moonshine and his gang.”

“That’s right,” continued Paul. “Harriman did lead me to Main Street where he met Moonshine, Joe and Pete. But if it was not you who nodded to Harriman, then I am more convinced than ever that there is a man in this town who looks very much like you. In fact he looks so much like you that even Harriman mistook him for you.”

“Now that is very interesting,” Mr. Wilson said. “We will have to do something about it.”

“But here is something that is very suspicious, Mr. Wilson,” Paul said. “You say that at the time you were at the hotel, but you or the person that looks like you, walked out of the corner house, that is, Harriman’s house, only about fifteen minutes before the grocery store keeper himself came out. How do you figure that out?”

“You have me puzzled, Paul, if that was the case. I can’t figure it out.”

The four of them leaned back in their seats and kept quiet. The boys appeared exhausted12 from the ordeal13. They thought that at last everything would be cleared up and now they discovered that it still remained a mystery. “At last,” muttered Jack, “we are back where we started. Hooray!” Paul sighed and kept silent. Ken asked sadly, “Now what are we going to do?”

His companions shrugged14 their shoulders. Mr. Wilson remarked, “I wish I knew how I could[236] help you. But as a matter of fact, I am leaving on the midnight express.”

“That’s too bad,” said Paul. “I thought that perhaps you would stay here for several days.”

Mr. Wilson shook his head. “That is out of the question,” he answered.

“To come back to the point,” said Jack, “what do you think we ought to do, Paul?”

“About what?”

“The mystery of the white card, of course.”

“I suppose we will just have to wait and see. Perhaps we will find some clue one of these days which will solve it.”

“If we wait until the mystery is solved by itself, we will never know the solution,” was Ken’s statement.

“Too bad I can’t help you,” said Mr. Wilson as he rose to go.

They shook hands all around, the boys wishing Mr. Wilson a pleasant trip and he wishing them success in unravelling15 the mystery of the white card.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 investigation MRKzq     
n.调查,调查研究
参考例句:
  • In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
  • He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
2 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。
3 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.
4 maniac QBexu     
n.精神癫狂的人;疯子
参考例句:
  • Be careful!That man is driving like a maniac!注意!那个人开车像个疯子一样!
  • You were acting like a maniac,and you threatened her with a bomb!你像一个疯子,你用炸弹恐吓她!
5 linen W3LyK     
n.亚麻布,亚麻线,亚麻制品;adj.亚麻布制的,亚麻的
参考例句:
  • The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
  • Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。
6 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
参考例句:
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
7 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
8 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。
9 blurted fa8352b3313c0b88e537aab1fcd30988     
v.突然说出,脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She blurted it out before I could stop her. 我还没来得及制止,她已脱口而出。
  • He blurted out the truth, that he committed the crime. 他不慎说出了真相,说是他犯了那个罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
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 exhausted 7taz4r     
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的
参考例句:
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
13 ordeal B4Pzs     
n.苦难经历,(尤指对品格、耐力的)严峻考验
参考例句:
  • She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
  • Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。
14 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》
15 unravelling 2542a7c888d83634cd78c7dc02a27bc4     
解开,拆散,散开( unravel的现在分词 ); 阐明; 澄清; 弄清楚
参考例句:
  • Nail head clamp the unravelling of nail exteriorize broken nails and clean. 钉头卡钉,拆开钉头取出碎钉并清洁。
  • The ends of ropes are in good condition and secured without unravelling. 缆绳端部状况良好及牢固,并无松散脱线。


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