The Blue Herring Mystery (9 page)

“But he said he had knocked on all the doors and there wasn’t anyone home!” said Bobby. “And he said he hadn’t been in the house.”

“I know he did,” Djuna said. “And you remember he told us yesterday that he didn’t know Aunt Candy.”

“Yes,” said Bobby. “But Aunt Candy said this morning she met him at Doc Perry’s drugstore one time.”

“I know she did,” Djuna said, “but she acted awful funny when she said it. She acted as though she didn’t know whether to say she knew him or not. I think she knows him better than she admits, or why would he have a key to her house?”

“Jeepers, how would I know?” Bobby asked, and then suddenly his eyes began to shine and he looked sort of flabbergasted at the thought that had flashed through his mind as he told it to Djuna.

“Say!” he said, and his eyes were round. “Maybe he’s looking for those pearls — for Aunt Candy! You remember Doc Perry told us, or Mr. Boots, that Professor Kloop spent most of his time hunting for something in Captain Jonas’s house? Doc Perry said he was always looking into dark corners and tapping on the walls!”

“Sure, I remember,” Djuna said. “But the thing is,
did
Captain Jonas really bring back any pearls?”

“He
must
have!” Bobby exclaimed, “according to his log and that verse from St. Matthew!”

“Well,” Djuna said and he was thoughtful again, “I think I can find out tonight whether or not he did.”

“How?” Bobby wanted to know, his eyes wide again.

“I wouldn’t tell you this, because I don’t want to get you in — invol — involved in anything, but you’ve got to help!” Djuna said. “I’m going to call up Socker Furlong at the
Morning Bugle
after supper and I don’t want anyone to hear. The only public phone in Edenboro is over at Mr. Pindler’s store. Mr. Boots said he was going to be there this evening to help Mr. Pindler with some work. There isn’t any phone booth. The phone is just on the wall. But it’s back at the end of the store and if you make enough noise talking to them while I’m talking to Socker they can’t hear what I say.”

“
What
are you going to say to him?” Bobby asked, whispering again.

Djuna thought hard for a moment. “I’m going to ask him if he can find out something for me.” He hesitated for a moment; then he added, “After he tells me whether or not he can find out what I want to know, I’ll tell you.”

“I don’t see why you can’t tell me
now!
” Bobby protested. “I’m not going to tell anybody!”

“I think I can find out from what Socker tells me,” Djuna said, “whether Captain Jonas did bring back pearls, or something else very valuable, when he went on his last voyage. I sort of think he
did
.”

“Do you think Professor Kloop is looking for them for Aunt Candy?” Bobby asked.

“I don’t know,” Djuna said. “Maybe, like he told us, he doesn’t even know Aunt Candy. He may have got in a window at Aunt Candy’s this morning to search for the pearls for himself, and took the key so that he could get in again. Maybe he’s just a thief that found out about the pearls and is trying to find them.”

“If there
are
any pearls,” Bobby said.

“That’s —” Djuna broke off and shouted, “Coming!” as Miss Annie called up the stairs to tell them supper was ready.

They went down the stairs with their usual willingness when they were called to meals. There were three places set at the kitchen table and at each place was a plate piled high with spaghetti and meat balls and covered with a sauce whose delicious aroma filled the kitchen.

“Spaghetti and meat balls!” Bobby said. “Golly, I don’t know of anything I like better!”

“I didn’t know you knew how to make this,” Djuna said to Miss Annie. “We never had it before.”

“I know we haven’t,” said Miss Annie. “My sister, Mrs. Silvernails, taught me how to make it when I was visiting her while you were in Florida. I forgot all about it. Of course, the whole thing depends on the sauce and I think this is just right.”

“It certainly
eats
just right!” Djuna said with enthusiasm. And both he and Bobby went to work on it.

“U-u-u-m!” was about all they said through that first plateful, and Miss Annie filled up their plates again.

“Don’t eat too much now, because I have another pie for dessert,” Miss Annie warned them.

“It wouldn’t make any difference if I ate a whole barrel of it, Miss Annie,” said Bobby. “I could still eat a piece of your pie!”

“Thank you, Bobby,” Miss Annie said.

And anyone watching Bobby, and Djuna, too, as they attacked the lemon meringue pie that Miss Annie produced a few minutes later, would have believed him. With it, they had another large glass of milk.

They left the table groaning with happy satisfaction, but they were able and willing to help Miss Annie with the dishes. When they had finished, Djuna told Miss Annie that they were going for a little walk and Miss Annie replied, “That’s all right. But I want you in bed by nine o’clock.”

Djuna and Bobby strolled down the road to Mr. Pindler’s store. When they peered in the window they saw that not only were Mr. Boots and Mr. Pindler there, but also Mrs. Pindler. “Let’s wait a minute,” Djuna said. “She may be going upstairs.”

They waited outside for a few minutes. After both Mr. Boots and Mr. Pindler had climbed up on step-ladders to repair the ceiling of the store and she had no one to talk to, Mrs. Pindler went upstairs.

“Hello, boys,” Mr. Pindler said as Djuna and Bobby came through the doorway. Old Mr. Boots, to show that he wasn’t old, said, “Hi!”

“Do you mind if I use your phone, Mr. Pindler?” Djuna asked.

“Long distance?” Mr. Pindler asked, without warmth.

“Yes,” said Djuna. “I want to get Mr. Furlong, in Philadelphia.”

“All right,” Mr. Pindler said grudgingly, “but be sure you find out what the charges are when you’re through.”

“Oh, yes, sir!” Djuna said. “I’ll remember.” He gave Bobby a meaningful glance and went back to the telephone at the far end of the store. Bobby moved over beside the two ladders.

Djuna took down the old-fashioned receiver and said, “Long distance, please,” when the local operator came on the wire.

When the long distance operator said she was on the line, Djuna said, “I want to get Mr. Furlong, Socker they call him, F-u-r-l-o-n-g —”

“What was that first name?” the operator asked.

“Socker,” Djuna said. “S-o-c-k-e-r. He’s on the
Morning Bugle
, a newspaper in Philadelphia. He’s on the city desk, I think, if that will help you.”

“Hold on, please,” the operator said.

Being a country line, it spluttered and complained in Djuna’s ear, but he held on grimly until he heard a girl’s voice say, “Good evening! This is the
Morning Bugle
.”

Djuna was about to tell her that he wanted to talk to Socker Furlong when the operator came back on the line and said, “Edenboro calling Mr. Socker Furlong.”

“Just a minute, please,” the
Bugle
operator said.

Djuna heard a buzz and then a booming voice said, “Furlong speaking!”

“Hello, Socker! Socker!” he said excitedly.

“Yeah, this is Socker. What gives? Who’s speaking?” Socker inquired, impatiently.

“This is Djuna, Socker!” said Djuna, trying to control his voice. “I’m phoning from Edenboro.”

“Hel — LO! How are you, Djuna? I’ve been intending to get over there to see you for the past month but they’ve kept me so busy around this slave market that I’ve hardly had time to eat. What cooks, kid?”

Djuna looked behind him and saw that Bobby was laughing and chattering with Mr. Boots like a magpie. “I wonder if you can find out something for me, Socker?”

“I can try, if you tell me what you want to know,” Socker said with a chuckle in his voice.

“I want to know what firm, or what kind of company, had a place at 550 Broadway in New York City in 1858 and ’59,” Djuna told him.

“Well, I’ll be!” Socker exploded. “Wait a minute, kid, till I look in my address book. What in the world do you want to know that for?”

“I can’t tell you now, Socker,” Djuna said. “I’m talking in Mr. Pindler’s store.”

There was a short pause and there was more than electricity dancing over the wire as Djuna waited.

“Look, my little lightning calculator, are you getting mixed up in one of those things again?” Socker finally asked. “What’s it all about?”

“I can’t tell you now, Socker,” Djuna said, and he heard an ominous silence behind him as though they were all listening. “Is there any way you can find out who was at that address at that time?”

Just then there was a terrific crash behind Djuna that was followed by two or three lesser ones and as Djuna jumped he heard Mr. Pindler jabbering like an angry monkey.

“Now, wait a minute, kid,” Socker said. “That’ll take a few minutes. Do you want to hold on?”

“If it doesn’t cost too much,” Djuna said.

“I’ll take care of that,” Socker said and Djuna could hear his telephone click as he got the
Bugle
operator on the wire.

“Hey, Sarah,” Socker said. “Get the long distance operator who took this call from Edenboro and tell her to charge it to us. Get it?”

“Okay, Socker,” the operator said. “Will do.”

“And don’t cut me off,” Socker ordered. “The line may sound dead, but it won’t be.”

“Okay, Socker,” the operator said again.

“Now, Djuna,” Socker said. “We have a
Daggett’s Directory
of New York City that was made up in 1851 but remember that the firm that was at that Broadway number then might not have been there seven years later. Hang on, kid, and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Yes, sir,” Djuna said. He looked down the length of the store again and saw that Bobby was helping a very angry-looking Mr. Pindler pick up and stack some canned goods.

After almost five minutes of waiting Socker came back on the line. There was satisfaction in his voice as he said, “Furlong’s Expert Information Service speaking! I got it, kid! Tiffany and Company were at that address in that year! They were there for years! You know who Tiffany and Company
are
, don’t you, Djuna? They’re about the biggest and most famous —”

“Jeepers! I know, Socker!” Djuna said, and before Socker could speak he added, “There’s one thing more I want to ask you.”

“Shoot!” Socker said.

“Do you know a man, a professor, named Karl Kloop?” Djuna asked.

“Karl Kloop?” Socker said. “No.”

“He said you were an old pal of his,” Djuna told Socker.

“Tell him he’s playing with the truth!” Socker said. “Never heard of him. Look, kid, don’t you think you better tell me what this is all about?”

“I can’t, now, Socker!” Djuna said. “I’ll tell you when you come over.”

“Now, listen, Djuna!” Socker said sternly. “You keep your nose clean, d’you hear? Don’t do nothin’ till Socker comes. I’ll be over within a couple of days.”

“Well, thanks a lot, Socker,” Djuna said. “Especially for paying for the call.”

“Old man Canavan will probably tell me about that,” Socker said. “Remember him?”

“Oh, sure!” Djuna laughed. “The editor. I don’t want to get you fired again, Socker!”

“Why
not!
” Socker wanted to know. “Every time he fires me he pays me more money to come back again. Well, good night, Djuna. Remember, keep your nose clean!”

“Oh, I will, Socker!” Djuna said. “Good night!”

Mr. Pindler was back up on his ladder and Bobby looked quite subdued as Djuna walked slowly away from the telephone and joined them. But Bobby winked at him and grinned as he spoke to Mr. Pindler.

“Mr. Furlong had the charges reversed on my call, Mr. Pindler,” Djuna said.

“What? What’s that?” Mr. Pindler said querulously.

“I said Mr. Furlong had my call charged at the other end, to the
Morning Bugle
,” Djuna said again.

“That’s good,” Mr. Pindler said. “Don’t like to get them big telephone bills. They scare me.”

“Thanks very much for letting me use the phone,” Djuna said.

“That’s all right. Any time,” Mr. Pindler said.

“Good night,” Djuna and Bobby said, and Mr. Boots and Mr. Pindler called out a good night to them.

When they were outside and down the steps of Mr. Pindler’s store Bobby clapped Djuna on the shoulder and burst into uncontrollable laughter. “Oh, golly!” he said when he could speak. “I suppose I shouldn’t have done it, because they both almost fell off their ladders. They were both listening, trying to hear what you were saying, and I couldn’t think of anything else to talk about. So, there was a big pyramid of canned milk in the middle of the room, you know, little cans piled on top of each other. I fell against them, kind of by accident on purpose, and they crashed and rolled all over the place. They forgot all about listening!”

Djuna began to laugh then, too, as he pictured Mr. Boots’s and Mr. Pindler’s alarm when the pile of cans went over. They were still laughing when Bobby suddenly sobered and said, “Did you find out from Socker what you wanted to know?”

Djuna stopped laughing then, too, and he sort of shivered as he remembered Socker’s dire warning. “Yes,” he said, and then he explained.

“Yesterday,” he said, “after we began to look through Captain Jonas’s logbook, you went off to look at the harpoons again and I went on skimming through the rest of the log. After the ship got back to New York, and the voyage was over, Captain Jonas had made one more entry. I learned it by heart. This is what it said: ‘Called at 550 Broad Way. Let go one anchor. Made good bargain, I think. Am holding best bower in case of squalls.’”

“Golly, what did
that
mean?” Bobby whispered.

“
I
think,” said Djuna, “it meant that he sold the contents of one of the little baskets and kept the other one. Socker told me that Tiffany and Company, the big jewelers, were at 550 Broadway in those days. That’s what I wanted to know. I wanted to know what
kind
of store was at that number.”

“Then he did bring back pearls, and he sold only half of them!” Bobby exclaimed. “I wonder what he did with the other basket.”

“That,” said Djuna, “is what Professor Kloop is trying to find out, I think. And I asked Socker, too, if he knew a man named Karl Kloop and he said that he’d never heard of him. You remember Kloop said Socker was a good pal of his?”