A New Turn of Events

Jack stopped dead in his tracks. His two friends also stopped and faced him. “What is it?” asked Paul.

“I was just wondering,” answered Jack, “whether we shouldn’t go back there, watch until those two leave and then go down there again.”

“Go down where?” asked Ken; they had not yet told him of the cellar they had discovered.

Paul shook his head. “No,” he said. “We have had enough for one day. And then, I want some time to think this thing over and try to piece everything together. Let’s go to Ken’s garage where we can have some privacy.”

“You really think we shouldn’t go back?” asked Jack.

“Yes, I’m convinced.”

“Don’t mind me,” said Ken as the three of them continued walking. “I’m only an ornament among the three of us.”

“Don’t be so impatient,” said Paul. “Wait. We’ll tell you everything.”

They came to Ken’s garage and sat down on boxes. Paul related what had happened. Several times Ken gasped in astonishment. When the story was finally ended, Paul commented, “But what puzzles me is how all the incidents fit together.[123] The fires, Mr. Grey, Jack getting bumped on the head, Captain Bob, where do all these facts fit in?”

“As far as Captain Bob is concerned, you can leave him out of it,” commented Jack. “No matter what it is all about, I’m quite sure he is an innocent party.”

“Yes,” said Ken. “As chief of the fire department he naturally would be interested in why there are an unusually large number of fires.”

“All right, suppose we agree that Captain Bob is out of it,” said Paul, “what about all the other facts. How does Mr. Grey fit in, for example?”

“Yes, how does he fit in?” asked Ken. “Isn’t it possible that what you stumbled on today has nothing to do with all the other incidents?”

“It may sound all right,” remarked Jack, “but I don’t think so. For example, by now I am convinced that the fellow who hit me came out of that cellar.”

“But why should he run away?” questioned Paul. “Why couldn’t he have made you a prisoner, as that would be a more natural thing to do?”

“Perhaps,” argued Jack. “But if he had, he would have had to take me down in the cellar. Now suppose he blindfolds me, still I might hear something they say. I might escape and inform the police. My opinion is that he hit me and ran away, hoping that the blow on the head would scare me so that I would never return.”

His two companions nodded. “Suppose we accept[124] that as the real reason. Where does everything else fit in? What are they doing with a printing press down there? They shouldn’t have to hide that.”

“But the mere fact that they are hiding it is proof that they are doing something illegal,” commented Ken.

His two companions repeated the word, “Illegal! Illegal!”

Jack began to walk up and down, his chin in his hand and deep in thought. The other two were also silent and thinking hard. Jack picked up an old newspaper from the floor. Suddenly he dropped the paper, jumped high into the air and cried frantically, “I have it! I have it!”

His two friends leaped out of their seats, and ran up to him. “Well!” demanded Paul, for once impatient and curious. “What is the answer?”

“The answer is,” whispered Jack and then paused, “Counterfeiters!” he whispered.

Ken jumped into the air enthusiastically. “That’s right!” he cried. “That’s right!”

Paul smiled with satisfaction. Putting an arm around Jack, he said, “It sounds very reasonable. Counterfeiters have to use a printing press. And counterfeiters do something illegal and therefore have to hide.” He nodded his head. “Sounds very logical.”

They returned to their seats. “But,” continued Paul, “even if we grant the fact that they are[125] counterfeiters, how do all the other incidents fit in? The fires and Mr. Grey for example?”

“Must they fit in?” inquired Ken.

“They don’t have to,” was Paul’s reply, “but I have a notion that they do.”

Jack nodded and agreed with his chum. “I feel the same way about it,” he said. “It is very possible that what we have discovered today has absolutely nothing to do with the fires or Mr. Grey. But somehow I have a feeling that there is some connection. But I can’t say what.”

“But if there is some sort of a connection between all these facts, how do you think they fit in?” asked Paul.

Jack shook his head. Ken said, “Suppose we begin from the very beginning. I mean from the time you came upon the house, Jack. Now, was it not Mr. Grey who led you to the house?”

“Yes. And then he sneaked around in the back and scared me half to death.”

“All right. Now if he had anything to do with the counterfeiters do you think he would have led you to that very house he wants you to keep away from? If he were a member of that gang of counterfeiters and he knew you were following him, don’t you think he would lead you to some other part of town?”

Paul said, “That may sound logical, but the opposite may also sound logical. For example, if we concede that the fellow who hit Jack on the[126] head and then ran away did it to frighten him so that he would keep away from there, why can’t we say the same thing about Mr. Grey? Is it not possible that Mr. Grey knew he was being followed and purposely led Jack to that very house, then sneaked up behind him to frighten him so that he would never return? Isn’t that very plausible?”

“Say,” cried Jack, “if what you say is true, that fellow certainly made a mistake.”

“And how!” echoed Ken.

“Now if we know all that,” continued Paul, “that makes Mr. Grey a member of the gang of counterfeiters.”

“But what about the fires? And leading Betty away. And those white cards, what about them? And the robbery at Professor Link’s?”

The boys looked at each other very glumly. “The whole thing is like a crazy............