Mystery #02 — The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat

"What about your gardener?" said Luke fearfully. "What time does he come? Will he be up here at all?"

"He's ill," said Pip. "He won't be back for a few days. Mother's fed up because of the vegetables. She says they want weeding, and she keeps on trying to make me and Bets do it. But I hate weeding."

"Oh," said Luke, relieved. "Well, I'll be pretty safe up here then. Good night — and thanks."

It was exciting to wake the next morning and think of Luke in the summer-house. Pip sat up in bed and wondered what there was for breakfast. If it was sausages he could secrete one somehow and take it to Luke. If it was boiled eggs he couldn't. Anyway, he could take bread and butter.

Bets was thinking the same thing. She dressed quickly and went downstairs, wondering if she could cut some bread and butter before anyone came into the dining-room. She thought she could.

But just as she was cutting a big thick slice of bread, her mother came in. She stared in surprise at Bets.

"Whatever are you doing?" she said. "Are you so hungry that you can't wait for breakfast? And what an enormously thick slice, Bets!"

Poor Bets had to put the slice on her own plate and eat it. The porridge was brought in and she and Pip ate theirs. Then — hurrah! — a dish of sausages came in! The children's eyes gleamed. Now they would be able to take one or two to Luke.

"Please can I have two sausages today?" asked Pip.

"Me too," said Bets.

"Gracious, you must be hungry, Bets!" said her mother. She gave them each two. Their father was hidden behind his newspaper, so he would not be able to see what they were doing. But their mother could see quite well. How could they manage to hide away a sausage each? It was going to be difficult.

But just then Annie the maid came into the room. "Would you care to buy a flag for our local hospital, Madam?" she said. "Miss Lacy is at the front door."

"Oh, of course," said Mrs. Hilton, and got up to get her bag, which she had left upstairs. The two children winked at one another. Pip got out a clean hanky and wrapped a sausage up quickly. Bets did the same — but her hanky was not so clean! They pushed the wrapped-up sausages into their pockets with slices of bread, just as their mother came back.

Luke was glad of the bread and sausages. They took him some water to drink too. He sat in the summer-house eating, and they talked in low voices. "We'll bring you something at dinner-time too," said Pip. "And you can pick yourself plums and greengages from the trees, can't you, Luke?"

Luke nodded. He drank the water and handed back the cup. Then there came the sound of someone calling "Co-ee" and Bets jumped up.

"It's Fatty — and Buster! Hie, Fatty, here we are in the summer-house."

Fatty came up the garden with Buster. The little Scottie darted into the summer-house, barking with delight to see his friend there. Luke patted him.

Fatty stopped at the entrance to the summer-house, his mouth falling open in the greatest amazement when he saw Luke there. Bets laughed at his surprise.

"We're going to hide him here," she explained to Fatty. "And we're going to bring him food. It's exciting. Oh, Fatty, can't we solve the mystery so that Luke isn't afraid any more? Do let's hurry up and solve the mystery!"

Fatty had to hear all about the night's happenings. Then Daisy and Larry came, and added their surprise and delight to the little company. Altogether it was a very pleasant morning.

"Where's that whistle we found in the cats' cage?" said Pip. It was produced and held up for Luke to see.

"We found it in the cage," said Fatty. "And as we thought Mr. Goon would be sure to find it, and Mr. Tupping would tell him it was yours, we took it out and kept it. And we put a lot of false clues in the cage. You'd have laughed to see them. I put a cigar-end in the cage and one under it!"

Luke whistled. "Oho!" he said, "so that's why Mr. Goon got all excited when he found my uncle smoking a cigar! I couldn't think why he did. My uncle said he went quite purple in the face when he took out a cigar and lighted it He had a box given to him once, and when he wants to be careful what he says to anyone, he lights one of those cigars and smokes it He says it helps him to think."

The children giggled to think that Fatty's cigar-ends had made Mr. Goon get all excited when he saw Jake smoking a cigar. Then Luke looked at the whistle that Fatty held.

"Yes; that's one I made," he said. "I lost it somewhere in the garden. How could it have got into the cats' cage? I made that whistle months ago."

They all talked over the mystery again, but somehow they could not make head or tail of it

Between them the children managed to supply Luke with plenty of food. They gave him a pail of water and soap and an old towel. They made up a bed for him each night in the summer-house. And, in return, Luke worked in the vegetable garden whenever Pip's mother was out, weeding it carefully and doing all he could to make it nice. The kitchen-garden was far away from the house and he could not be seen.