"Arthur, Robert - The Three Investigators 010 - The Mystery of the Moaning Cave" - читать интересную книгу автора (Arthur Robert)

"Shall we mark our trail with question marks?"

"Right," Jupiter said. "And we will also use arrows to indicate the direction we have taken." The question marks in chalk were one of his most inspired inventions. The boys used them to leave a trail. The marks instantly made it clear that one of the investigators had been in a place. Since Jupiter's chalk was white, Pete's blue, and Bob's green, it was even possible to tell exactly which one had made the marks.

"Well," Pete said. "Are we ready?"

"I believe we are," Jupiter said, satisfied at last.

The boys took a deep breath, and then began to walk down the slope of the ridge into the valley.

Once more the moan wailed out in the night "Aaaaaahhhhhhh--ooooooooooo--oooooo--oo!"

A swift current of cold air came to meet them as they neared the dark opening of the cave. Jupiter, in the lead, had already switched on his flashlight when suddenly he heard a rumbling sound.

"What's that?" Bob cried.

The sound grew louder. Because of the strange echoing effect in the bowl-shaped valley, it seemed to come from all around them.

"Look up there!" Pete shouted, pointing.

A giant boulder was tumbling down the steep face of Devil Mountain in a shower of smaller stones.

"Jump!" Pete cried.

Bob hurled himself sideways out of the path of the hurtling boulder.

But Jupiter stood frozen, staring at the great rock as it fell straight towards him.





5

El Diablo's Cave



PETE threw himself at Jupiter, knocking the First Investigator away from the mouth of the cave. The boulder struck the ground with shattering force directly where Jupiter had been standing.

Bob scrambled to his feet. "Are you all right?" he asked anxiously.

Pete stood up. "I think so. Are you, Jupe?"

Jupiter got up more slowly and brushed at his clothes. His eyes had that faraway look that they always got when he was thinking.

"I was unable to move. A most interesting mental reaction," he mused. "It's similar to the way a small animal becomes paralysed when a snake looks at it. The animal literally can't move, and is easily caught when it could have escaped."

Bob and Pete both stared at their friend as he coolly analysed such a narrow escape from injury. Jupiter gazed up at the side of Devil Mountain in the moonlight.