"Carey, M.V. - The Three Investigators 15 - The Mystery of the Flaming Footprints" - читать интересную книгу автора (Carey M.V)

"Not at all," said Aunt Mathilda. "Come, Jupiter." She started down the verandah towards the street, and then remembered something. She turned back towards the terrace. "Good afternoon, Mr Farrier," she called.

Jupiter and Aunt Mathilda were halfway back to the salvage yard before Jupe allowed himself to laugh out loud. "I wonder whether that guy Farrier has ever been so completely ignored," he said to his aunt. "You ran over him like a Sherman tank."

"Silly ass!" snapped Aunt Mathilda. "I am sure he was bothering that poor girl.а.а.а. Men!"

Aunt Mathilda stormed into the house to rouse Uncle Titus from his Sunday afternoon stupor. Uncle Titus, in turn, called Hans and Konrad, and in fifteen minutes the salvage-yard truck was loaded with the bedsteads selected by The Potter, the two straight chairs, plus two small chests of drawers which Aunt Mathilda herself hauled from the furniture shed. "She'll need something to unpack her things into," said Aunt Mathilda.

Hans and Jupiter gathered up The Potter's groceries, and then Aunt Mathilda, Hans, and Jupe squeezed into the cab of the truck and headed up the highway towards The Potter's house.

The blue convertible with the Illinois plates was standing near the shed where The Potter kept his supplies when Aunt Mathilda drove the truck in off the main road. Young Tom Dobson was carrying two suitcases into the house, and Mrs Dobson stood on the porch, the wind ruffling her short hair.

"Everything all right?" called Aunt Mathilda.

"Well, fingerprint powder is grey, in case you were wondering," said Eloise Dobson. "And it's all over the place. It'll clean up, I suppose. But outside of about six zillion dishes, this place is bare as a barn."

"The Potter did not believe in encumbering himself with possessions," Jupiter explained.

Eloise Dobson shot him a curious glance. "Do you always talk like that?" she asked.

"Jupiter reads a great deal," explained Aunt Mathilda, and she went around to the back of the truck to supervise the unloading of the furniture.

Jupiter, struggling with the heavy brass headboard, saw two men stroll down the lane from Hilltop House. They were the two visitors of the day before--the thin, dark-haired man and the heavier, bald person. Both were wearing neat business suits and black hats. They glanced at the activity in The Potter's yard, then crossed the main road and disappeared down the path to the beach.

Tom Dobson came around to give Jupe a hand. "Who are they?" he asked. "Neighbours?"

"I'm not sure," said Jupiter. "They're new in town."

Tom got hold of one side of the headboard and Jupiter hefted the other. "Funny outfits for beach-walking," said Tom.

"Not everybody dresses the part," said Jupiter, thinking of the magnificently costumed Mr Farrier.

Tom and Jupiter staggered into the house with the headboard and up the stairs, and Jupiter saw that Eloise Dobson had spoken the truth. The Potter's house was barer than most barns. There were four bedrooms on the first floor, and a bath with an old-fashioned tub set high on claw legs. In one bedroom was a narrow bunk bed, neatly made up and covered with a white spread. The Potter also had a small bedside table, a lamp, an alarm clock and a little three-drawer chest painted white. That was all. The other three rooms were immaculate, but completely empty.

"You want this one, Mum?" called Tom, poking his head into the front room.

"Doesn't matter," said Mrs Dobson.

"It's got a fireplace," said Tom. "And wow, look at that wild thing!"

Tom and Jupiter leaned the headboard against the wall and looked at that wild thing. It was a ceramic plaque, fully five feet across. It was set into the wall above the fireplace.

"The double-headed eagle!" said Jupiter Jones.

Tom cocked his head to one side and examined the scarlet bird, screeching from both pointed beaks. "Old friend of yours?" he asked Jupiter.

"Possibly an old friend of your grandfather's," said Jupiter. "He always wore a medallion with that design on it. It must have meant something special to him. There are rows of double-headed eagles on those two big urns by the front steps. Did you notice them?"

"I was busy," said Tom. "We had a bed to move." Aunt Mathilda's footsteps were heavy on the stairs. "I hope that man thought to get enough sheets," worried Aunt Mathilda. "Jupiter, did you see mattresses anywhere?"