The Mystery of the Burgled Bedroom (Pt 2)

A short solve-your-own mystery by Keith Robinson

"Do tell us who the burglar is," pleaded Bets. "Was it the paper boy?"

"I think it was," said Pip.

Fatty raised an eyebrow at him. "Why would you think that?"

"Because he left a newspaper on the doorstep," said Pip, looking a little confused. "Er... and he must have seen the milk and the mail, guessed the place was empty, and scouted about the place to find an open window—which he found around the side."

"But any visitor could have done that," Fatty argued. "Why the paper boy?"

"Because only someone small could have crawled through that tiny window," said Pip, growing excited. "We all know the postman, old Lofty; he's a tall fellow. And the milkman, being first to arrive this morning, would have had no reason to suspect the old lady was out. Besides, surely he's too big to get through that window."

"Pip's right," said Larry, nodding. "And we know that was the only window left open, because I checked. The burglar had to have climbed in through there."

There was a long silence. Fatty glanced at Daisy. "And what about you, Daisy? What do you think?"

She shrugged. "I was just wondering how come the paper boy didn't track a lot of mud into the house when he climbed up into that bathroom window. It's been raining a lot this week, and there's a really muddy patch just below that window."

Fatty nodded approvingly. "Now you're using using your brains! Excellent work. So how do we explain that, Find-Outers?"

Everyone was silent. From inside the nearby bedroom window came Mr Goon's grumbling voice. He was probably complaining about meddling children as usual.

Pip snapped his fingers. "I've got it! That sheet of fluttering paper by the fence over there. It's all muddy. I think the paper boy took a sheet from one of his newspapers and laid it in that squelchy wet mud, then climbed in through the bathroom window."

"Why on earth would he worry about tracking mud in?" said Bets, wrinkling her nose.

"To avoid leaving telltale footprints everywhere," said Larry triumphantly. "I think we've got it! Let's go and tell Mr Goon."

Fatty smiled, looking mischievous. "Lead the way," he said. "Since you're all so sure you've solved the case."

Looking a little wary, Larry led the way around to the front of the cottage. They found Tom and Gordon standing on the doorstep, looking bored. Larry gave them a nod and marched in through the door. Fatty asked Tom politely if he wouldn't mind taking care of Buster, and promptly slipped inside the cottage with the other Find-Outers close on his heels.

"See, no mud anywhere," said Larry, pointing at the clean carpet in the hallway. He poked his head inside the bathroom. "None in there either."

Mr Goon's rumbling tones floated out of the back bedroom as the five edged closer. "...Probably get finger prints off the jewelry box," he was saying, "unless the burglar wore gloves, of course. Are you listening, Billy? You can learn a lot from me, you know."

"I need to get home," said Billy. "My father will be wondering where—Hallo, here's those kids again."

Mr Goon swung round, and Larry cleared his throat. "We just thought you should know who the thief is," he began.

"Pah!" Mr Goon exploded. "I know who the thief is! Plain as day, it is. The paper boy is the only person small enough to slip in through that bathroom window. And Billy here says the boy was sauntering through the park not twenty or thirty minutes ago, his hands stuffed into his pockets, jingling loose change! Ah, and wouldn't I like to know what kind of change he has in his pockets! I'll bet if we catch up to him on his paper round and get him to turn out his pockets, we'll find—"

"Nothing but loose change," Fatty said calmly. "If it's jewels you're looking for, ask Billy to turn out his pockets."

There was a silence, and then Mr Goon started sputtering. "What? What are you talking about?"

Fatty turned to Billy, who suddenly looked worried. "It was nothing but an unfortunate accident that Billy, or one of the others, kicked the ball over the fence and smashed the window. These things happen all the time. But when Billy climbed up onto that fence and peered down into the back garden, through the broken window into this bedroom, he spotted the jewelry box on the dresser, looking all tempting... And when no one in the house came running, he felt pretty certain the place was empty."

Shaking his head almost in admiration, Fatty went on. "Well, Billy, I must say it took nerves of steel to pretend there'd been a robbery! You made it all up—told us there were drawers pulled out, one upside down on the floor, things scattered everywhere... You had to make it look obvious there'd been a burglary. And then you sent for the police, and told us all to meet you round the front, knowing that would give you at least five minutes to nip in and rob the place for real!"

"He's mad," said Billy, scowling now. "Mr Goon, tell him to clear orf."

"But you worried about footprints on the carpet," Fatty insisted. "Those can give people away. So you looked around for something to wipe your feet on. It's been raining all week, and although today is warm and sunny, still your shoes had little clumps of mud on them from the playing field. That was when you remembered the paper boy—we'd all just seen him in the park, coming out of the alley, so you knew he'd delivered newspapers down this street. You rushed around to the front, took a sheet from the newspaper, put the paper back on the doorstep, and returned to the broken bedroom window. And as you wiped your feet dry you probably realized that using a sheet of newspaper from a paper than had just been delivered might implicate the paper boy in the robbery. How convenient, you thought! So you decided you'd plant some more clues, to somehow blame it all on the paper boy."

"Pah!" exploded Mr Goon again, unable to contain himself any longer. But he said nothing else, just glared with anger from Fatty to Billy.

Billy was swallowing and shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "This is all plain daft," he mumbled.

Fatty took a breath, collecting his thoughts. "With your feet wiped dry, you dropped the sheet of paper and climbed in carefully through the broken window, which had hardly any glass left in the frame. So you climbed in, pocketed the jewels at once, then set about organizing the crime scene. You opened the drawers, threw things around, and then nipped into the bathroom to open that side window—a neat idea, and a great way to throw others off the track. After all, a burglar had to have got in somehow, and there's no way someone your size could have squeezed through there. Only a small person could have climbed through—like the paper boy! The trouble is, you were in such a rush that you didn't think about the squelchy mud outside the window—or maybe you didn't spot that patch when you rushed around to the front earlier. See, anyone coming in that way would have left horrible wet muddy tracks all over the place, but the floor is clean."

"Ha!" said Billy suddenly, his face red with anger. "He probably used that sheet of paper you mentioned. Probably laid it in the mud and stood on it. Explain that, smart-alec!"

Fatty turned to Pip. "That was your idea, too, Pip. But Billy's feet were clotted with mostly-dried mud from the playing field, which probably came off in lumps, whereas that patch of mud under the window is wet and squelchy. The mud smeared on the paper was dry, wasn't it? If someone had laid that sheet of paper in the squelchy mud to stand on, it would have been soaked and dripping wet. But it wasn't. It was fluttering about against the fence, already drying."

"And anyway," Bets suddenly piped up, "the front door was open."

Everyone stared at her, and Fatty began to smile. "Go on," he encouraged.

"Well," she said, a little nervously, "the burglar must have slipped out the front door after he was finished. So, if the burglar really had been the paper boy, or anyone else, he would have headed off up the street at once. So the sheet of newspaper would still be there, lying in wet squelchy mud, weighed down by the weight of the mud and water."

Billy laughed. "You kids are making all this up. It's all theory. Tell them, Mr Goon. Where's the proof that it was me?"

"I can soon take your finger prints," Mr Goon growled, red in the face. "That'll get me the proof I need."

"That's no good," said Fatty, patting Bets warmly on her shoulder. "He's got gloves in his pocket. That's why his cousins picked him to be goalkeeper earlier. He probably wore the gloves when he climbed inside and ransacked the place."

"So," said Pip slowly, "where is your proof, Fatty? I'm sure you have some."

Fatty grinned. "The biggest clue is that drawer on the floor." Everyone watched, puzzled, as walked over to it. "See how it's lying on the glass? This proves the drawer was pulled out and thrown down after the ball had smashed through the window. It proves Billy was lying about the robbery as he sat on top of that fence. He's the burglar, as sure as my name's Frederick Algernon Trotteville."

Fatty wants to congratulate the following winners...

Shagufta Naaz. She was the first to write in with the correct answer with a suitable explanation for the clues. It's hard to judge who's in second place; Shailesh Salgar was pretty quick off the mark with approximately the right answer, but Hari Menon came up with the closest answer of all! Does timing take priority over accuracy? Probably not, in a court of law, but I'll leave you all to judge. All the theories are posted below in the order they were received...

The newspaper boy is the burglar becuse he is small enough to get through the small bathroom window. The Find Outers see him going. The paper boy finds out that there is no one in the house at present because the milk bottles and some letters have not been taken inside. He takes advantage of this and robs the old woman off her jewels. — Nitya Nitya

Sorry, Nitya—that's exactly what Billy wanted you to think.

Though im not sure of the 'how and why' im pretty sure of the 'who'. The culprit is: Billy Appleby. Why: Because he's mean to the kids..:D The main clue i think is: no dirty footmarks. We know theres a 'squelchy patch' under the small bathroom window. Since the carpet is is in pristine condidtion (The plain, cream-colored carpet looked brand new, and very clean indeed except for a dirty round patch near to where the ball lay) its obvious the burglar didnt come in through that window. we also know Billy was wearing gloves (minor point but shows he was prepared to do a spot of burglaring on his way to the playground). He's tall so he could have spotted the milk bottles on his way as well. i m sure there are other clues but its 2:30 AM and this is all i can spot. — Shagufta Naaz (first attempt)

Sorry, that's no good either. Right suspect, but the evidence doesn't stack up.

I think I've swallowed all of your red herrings! My gut instinct tells me its Billy. I thought he knew a bit too much about the side window, and how it was too small for him to get in by. He was also first on the scene, and could have taken the jewels at once. However, the clues seem to point to the paper boy. He knew the cottage (I assume it was a bungalow) was unoccupied; he could walk round to the back unseen; he had a bag in which to hide the clues; he was also jingling something in his pocket; and he was certainly small enough to get in the window. I just know I'm wrong! I'll plump for the paper boy though, although I'm sure it's Billy! — Nigel Rowe

Ah, now you should have followed your gut instinct! You were right about Billy "knowing a bit too much about that side window"... almost like he was trying to put the blame on the paper boy.

"Come on think," said Fatty to the Find-Outers "think of what we saw in the room"
   "We saw a lot of mess" said Daisy promptly. "Things flung all over the floor, glass from the window lying on the carpet, a dirty stain left by the football..."
   "What things?" said Fatty innocently.
   "You know, the drawer with all the stuff that had fallen out of it" said Larry
   "There were two photo albums" said Bets. "The drawer was lying on top of them. And a few shards of glass"
   "Don't you see?" asked Fatty, obviously enjoying himself. "The drawer was lying on top of the glass. But we know that the window was broken by the ball after the burglary, so there shouldn't have been any broken glass lying around when the drawer was flung on the floor."
   The others gaped. As always Fatty was right. They had clearly seen pieces of glass under the drawer, but the window was broken after the burglary. Or was it?
   "Listen" said Fatty "I think this is what happened. The ball flew over the fence and broke the window. Billy climbed over the fence and saw... what did he see? I think he saw the cottage which was obviously empty and a jewel case on top of the dressing table. So he turned around and made up a story about the room being ransacked and sprinted off".
   "He would have a clear five minutes or so before we caught up with him" said Daisy "he could have easily let himself in the bedroom window, remember how there was hardly any glass left in the frame? He must have broken it to make room."
   "But surely he would have left footprints on the carpet" objected Bets "He was playing football in the muddy field"
   "Remember the mud-caked newspaper we saw flapping on the fence?" said Pip "Maybe he used that to wipe his feet"
   "So Billy is the thief" said Fatty — Shagufta Naaz (second and correct answer)

And there it is! The first answer that was close enough to the truth. After this, several correct answers flooded in...

The burglar is Billy! The clue is the drawer laid upside down ON the glass, which means the glass broke first and the drawer was ransacked later after the glass broke. Only Billy was in there after the glass broke. When the ball went over and Billy looked in, he probably already knew the owner was out or he saw the mail, the milk and the newspaper and figured out the owner was out. At that spur of the moment he realized that he could go in and burgle the house (he might hv already known the lady of the house carried jewels). He sent off Gordon away and asked Tom to meet him at the front. So he has like 5 -10 minutes to commit the crime. I am not exactly sure what window he got in and out . probably the bathroom window thats what made the marks on the carpet, which he realized and then he probably used the news paper sheet to hide his marks. — Shailesh Salgar

Shailesh, this was very close indeed, although you were wrong about which window Billy climbed through. Still, you were just too late to win anyway...

Let me offer a tentative solution. The burglar is Billy. He'd already broken in. The newspaper had come before the post, and he moved it on to the doorstep. There were two footballs involved, not one, and he kicked the ball deliberately over the fence the second time, then got his cousins out of the way. That's why he was reluctant for Fatty & Co to get involved. Hmm, I can see the details are a little fuzzy here...I'm not quite sure if the paperboy is scapegoat or accomplice. Anyway, it was fun! — Margaret Walker

Some details are indeed a little fuzzy. Where did the second ball go? I liked your idea about Billy moving the newspaper to the doorstep—very clever! But the paper boy had been seen coming from that direction minutes before, his bag stuffed with newspapers, so that theory falls a little flat too.

I forgot to mention, by the way, that I thought the gloves were a glue... And I thought there was too much glass - so it had been broken before, and then there was another pane of glass, which was deliberately smashed. Hang on, I'll try again. Billy goes in earlier, by bathroom window, wearing gloves. Takes jewels, leaves by front door, encounters in some way paper boy, plays football and contrives the broken window. Or maybe, can't remove jewels because of paper boy...has to find a way to get back in. Oh blow! It's quite hard to do, this detective business. I might leave it to Fatty. — Margaret Walker again

Tee hee!

Hari Menon wrote next, with a beautifully written full story ending—only it was wrong. In his covering email he said, "I must admit I considered alternative explanations as well. Billy's wearing gloves sounded very suspicious, to begin with. Another was the sentence "drawer... lay upside down on the glass squashing what looked like a couple of photo albums", which seemed to imply that the room was ransacked *after* the window was broken. How else could the pulled-out drawer be lying *on* the (broken) glass? But that's an angle I shall explore only if this solution doesn't fit!"

Ha! Should have explored that angle first! We'll come back to Hari's alternative ending in a minute. In his second email, he offers another theory...

The ball breaking the window was an accident. But sitting high on the wall, Billy saw that the bedroom window was smashed, and hearing no commotion he realised the house was uninhabited (he could also have spotted the unclaimed milk and letters when he went by earlier). And he saw the chance to commit a little burglary. So he made up a little story about the "ransacked" bedroom, sent one of his friends to get Goon, and asked the other friend to come the long way around to the front of the house. In the meantime he leaped off the wall into the garden, dashed around to the porch, tore a sheet of paper from the newspaper lying there, and used it to wipe tell-tale mud stains from his hands and feet. He threw this away, but not before rolling up the rest of the newspaper and leaving it on the doorstep so it wouldn't arouse any suspicion.
   Billy then dashed back to the broken bedroom window, undid the latch and leapt in. He stole the jewelry and hurriedly rifled through the drawers and pocketed any valuables he could find. He wasn't worried about leaving fingerprints since he was wearing goalkeeper's gloves. But in his great haste, he upset a drawer over the broken glass, which was probably the clue that gave the game away to Fatty. He then left a little window ajar in a bid to take suspicion away from him -- and possibly on to the paper boy.
   Burglary done, he jumped out of the bedrooom window, secured the latch, and met the others at the front gate. All this wouldn't have taken him more than two or three minutes, and considering the Find-outers had a long chat with Tom during their walk across the field and through the alley and and around the block and down the street to reach the front of the house (that Jack built?), it would have given Billy ample time to commit the crime.
    I have a solution #3 as well, but I won't go into it here since it isn't as satisfying as #1 and #2. — Hari Menon

Absolutely spot on! See the last entry on this page for Hari's excellent, detailed explanation of events, where he neatly covers up his earlier wrong answer... ;-)

In the meantime, theories continue to come in...

I spotted another most important clue which gives Billy away !! when Goon came Billy told him theres an open window on the side !! How could he possibly know that ? he was at the back bedroom window and then had gone straight to the front ! he wasnt there when Larry spotted it !he knew it becaue he had opened it to get in of course !!
heres my theory on what happened. the muddy spot outside the window , suggests Billy got in from there . (he couldnt have come in thru the bedroom window as some of the glass stuck out and he could hv hurt himself. ) the muddy spot inside below that window also suggeste that he jumped in there. he then had 5 minutes to get the jewels and get out, thats why the hurry in which the burglary was attempted . the drawer was thrown on the floor to fool others that the house was ransacked. but he put it on the floor ON broken glass (this is the primary clue that its Billy and not the paper boy) Then he went out of the front door and spotted the paper . To leave no more traces he grabbed a sheet of paper and then probably walked on it to hide muddy footprints . he let go the paper after he reached the back bedroom window again, that explains the muddy sheet of paper! — Shailesh Salgar (second attempt)

You asked how Billy could possibly know how he knew about the side window, but actually Billy went right past it on his way round to the front door with Tom, to meet Mr Goon, so he could have spotted it then. And there was hardly any glass left in the bedroom window frame, so he could have got through quite easily if he was careful enough (unlike the bathroom window, which was far too small for him to squeeze through). But you got all the other details right, and spotted the vital clue of the drawer lying ON the glass.

It was the postman. He was slim and got in the bathroom door easily. By observing the milk-bottles, and the mail, he already knew that the house was empty. He had that bag to take the burgled items with him. When he was adjusting the burgled items in the bag some loose sheet of newspaper flew off from the open bathroom window-the one which was perceived by Pip. He put the newspapers above the stolen things so as not to be suspected. — Prakhar Gahlot

This is certainly a different take on things! But wrong. Sorry.

The entry to the house was not through the little window, because there were no footprints mentioned beneath it in the squelchy patch of mud that Fatty and the others saw. I'll guess the culprit is Billy himself! I think he climbed over the fence to get the ball, saw the jewels through the broken window - and seized his chance to steal them. An opportunistic crime, very audacious, since he'd just told the others to go for the police.
   Reasons: We know he was wearing gloves, so could have climbed safely through the open window, over the glass, and into the room. Possibly he used a piece of newspaper to stand on in the room to avoid making footprints on the carpet - that could be the sheet of newspaper blowing in the back garden and "caked with mud".
   Explanation for upturned drawer - he described the drawer being upside down on the floor, so he had to put it like that, so that the description matched the crime scene - even though there was nothing of value in it.
   Am I way off the mark? — Kay Massingham

No, you're spot on! And you're the only person to mention that he had to turn the drawer upside down because he'd already described it that way. Sitting on the fence, looking in from a short distance away, Billy thought he should paint a more dramatic picture than just a messy room, to make it clear there had been a burglary. Well done! Too late though. And you didn't mention the drawer lying on the glass...

I think I've got it. Billy did it. The drawer was on top of shards of glass, which meant that the window was already broken before the drawer was pulled out. Billy kicked the ball through the window on purpose to cover up his crime, and sent his cousins off so he could make sure it was all OK. Billy could have climbed through the window (being tall), perhaps with the help of the ivy that hangs down.
Close? — Heather from Australia

The first part is close, but your theory sinks like a concrete overcoat when you mention that Billy kicked the ball through the window on purpose to cover up a previous crime. Even David Beckham would have trouble shooting a ball through a distant window without actually being able to see it; don't forget the 6-7 foot high fence he kicked the ball over. Sorry, but no warm claps on the back from Fatty this time, just a sweaty iron grip around the scruff from Mr Goon!

Hi Keith, I read it again and I'll stand by my original deduction, and add that the upturned drawer was described as being *on top of* the glass. Which is further evidence, because if the drawer had been pulled out before the football went through the window, the broken glass would have been *on top of* the drawer and not beneath it. I rest my case. — Kay Massingham

Kay, you're even more correct than you were before, now that you've spotted the vital clue that proves the case! Jolly good show!

Okay, I'll have a go but I feel I'm missing something!
   I think the culprit might be Gordon, because it is mentioned that he is very short and slim. Therefore, he could have broken into the house earlier that afternoon through the small bathroom window. I think he put a sheet of newspaper over the muddy patch outside the bathroom window, to prevent his shoes getting muddy and leaving marks on the carpet. He went into the bedroom but couldn't reach the jewellery box on top of the dresser, so he pulled out a drawer and turned it upside down to stand on it. He had to balance it on a couple of photo albums before he could reach the jewellery box. That's how shards of glass were able to get beneath the drawer. Perhaps Gordon had even borrowed Billy's gloves, to avoid leaving fingerprints. Gordon put the jewels in his pockets but was unable to leave via the bathroom window because the sheet of newspaper he'd placed over the muddy patch had blown away. Therefore he left throught the front door, closing it as quietly as possible so as not to attract attention, but that meant he didn't pull it hard enough and it didn't shut properly.
   Gordon had planned the robbery beforehand with Billy and Tom, and they had purposely timed it so that suspicion would fall on the paper boy. They smashed the bedroom window deliberately with their football, in order to have an excuse to discover the robbery. That would make it look as though they themselves could not have been involved. Gordon was sent to fetch Goon so that he'd have a chance to hide the jewels somewhere on the way.
   How did the boys know about the jewellery box in the first place? Well, they often went to that park and Billy (who is tall) had climbed the fence before and seen into the bedroom.
   Sorry if this is all a load of rubbish, but it's the best I can do! — Anita Bensoussane

Not a load of rubbish at all, Anita! Very creative, and I like the way you used the drawer as a step. I imagined the dresser to be something you sit at, though, so a step wouldn't be needed. Still, it goes to show how different people conjure different images based on the same writing, and it reminds me how careful the writer has to be to make sure certain things are described properly. Thanks for your answer!

Was it Billy that did the burgling? It seems from the description that the glass was under the pulled out drawer. Furthermore there was no glass in the open jewelry box, which suggests that the drawer and box were opened after the ball went through the window. — Jom Hammack

This was a very brief but correct answer. You mentioned that there was no glass in the open jewelry box, and that could be a very good point—although it could also be argued that the glass can't have got everywhere, so perhaps this isn't a clue at all. But well thought out.

The culprit: Billy Appleby. Clue: glass shards underneath the overturned drawer.
Had the burglar come in by way of the unlocked bathroom window and out through the front door, then the bedroom window would be intact upon his exit. Then, the glass shattered by the stray football would have been on top of the overturned drawer, rather than under it. Thus, the bedroom window had indeed been broken before the burglary took place. Billy staged the stray football accident, and it was he who climbed the fence, pointed out the broken window and the fact that the bedroom now visible indicated a crime - all this to throw off the scent from the actual burglar - himself, Billy Appleby, son of Lord Appleby. — Tom Georges

Not bad, only he didn't stage the football accident.

The burglar must be Billy. Firstly because he's got gloves on, which is useful as he won't leave prints anywhere and also he can crash the rest of the glass with them. Secondly because it's been raining and there aren't any footprints below the small bathroom window (noone mentions there are any), which means that noone, neither big nor small, went in through that window. Therefore if all the other windows were locked the only other possible entrance is the obvious one: the bedroom window with the broken glass. "there's hardly any glass left in the frame": it's unlikely a ball would make a clean break of glass leaving hardly any glass in the frame. This takes us to think that Billy, having spotted a jewelry case in the bedroom, must have come up with the idea of organizing a football game just in front of the fence and the bedroom window. He probably waited for the delivery boy to deliver the papers to make him appear the prime suspect. He, then, kicked the ball hard to make it sail over the fence and crash the window. He appears to us as a domineering boy who orders everybody about. He climbs the fence, invents the story of the burglary to allow him to go to "investigate", orders people to go to the front to leave him some precious minutes to break the rest of the glass, go in, get the jewels, rumsack the place, open the bathroom window to deviate suspicions to possible small fellows like the delivery boy and go out again to be met by everybody. If his footprints are found in the bedroom, it's all right, after all, he's been there with Mr Goon!!
I hope I don't have to wear Mr Goon's uniform!!! — Montse Jorba

Almost, Montse, almost... and you just got in before this page went live!

And now (fanfare please!), Hari's excellent ending in its entirety. Maybe I should have just used this and not bothered writing it myself... could have saved myself a lot of time. Next time I'll leave the ending and let others do it. Tee hee!

The Mystery of the Burgled Bedroom:
The Solution as written by Hari Menon

   In the little shed at the bottom of Fatty's garden, the Find-Outers were having high tea and discussing the exciting events of that morning.
   "Do you mean to say you have found out who the burglar is, Fatty?" asked Bets in admiration.
   "I bet he hasn't. Why can't Sherlock come clean if he's cracked the case as he claims?" said Pip disbelievingly.
   Larry only sat there frowning.
   "You heard what Pip said, Fatty," said Daisy. "Don't be mean. Tell us what you've deduced."
   All five of them looked at Fatty expectantly. Yes, Buster too, because he sensed that Something Big Was Afoot and his master was in the thick of things as usual.
   "I'm disappointed, Find-Outers," said Fatty, with pretended sorrow. "I thought some of my sleuthing skills would have rubbed off on you after all these years, but I see you still have miles to go before... "
   "Shut up, Fatty!" said Pip and Larry at once, and Daisy threw a cushion at him for good measure.
   "Let me think," began Larry, still frowning in a effort to recollect the sequence of events. "I think we can put Billy and his friends in the clear because it was their ball that broke the window, and they would never draw attention to themselves if they had ransacked the cottage earlier. If I were Billy, I'd be in the next county by now!"
   "The paper boy did look mighty scared when he saw us," said Bets. "He popped out from an alley next to the burgled cottage, didn't he? He's very small too, so maybe he could have squeezed in through that little window. Why can't he be the burglar?"
   "Quite possible," agreed Pip. "What beats me is how clean the carpet looked. Remember, the only stain on it was where the ball had bounced. It had been raining, so how come the burglar didn't leave any footprints? Even the ground below the open window was squelchy with mud... but show me that sheet of paper again, Fatty!"
   The mud-stained sheet of paper that had been seen fluttering in the grounds of the cottage was produced, and they all pored over it.
   "See," Pip continued, "It's from today's newspaper, and it looks exactly as if someone spread it on a muddy patch and stood on it!"
   "Is the paper a clue, Fatty?" asked Bets.
   Fatty only smiled lazily and reached for his fifth biscuit.
   "You bet it is!" said Larry. We all saw the newspaper lying rolled up on the doorstep, so this came from somewhere else. I'm sure the paper boy took a sheet from another of his papers to spread under the window so that he wouldn't leave any muddy footprints."
   "That makes sense," agreed Daisy. "And since the milk and the post came earlier in the day and were sitting untouched on the porch, the paper boy must have guessed there was nobody in the house!"
   "Remember how he was jingling something in his pockets as he came out of the alley?" said Bets suddenly. "Why, couldn't that be some jewels he had in there? He certainly looked very nervous."
   "I bet that's it!" said Pip triumphantly. "The rest of the loot must have been in that waterproof bag he carries papers in. I noticed it was looking a bit stuffed this morning, but I assumed that was because he had only begun his rounds."
   "All right, Find-Outers," drawled Fatty, who had stopped lolling and was now sitting up. "I take back what I said earlier. You're jolly good, in fact. I suppose it must be my intensive training. Why, I even think... "
   But what Fatty thought nobody knew, because Larry and Pip flung themselves on him and soon all three boys were rolling on the floor, with a very excited scottie barkling madly all around them.
   "Stop it, you two," begged Fatty at last. "Or mother will come to see what's up. Now, who's coming with me to report the matter to the police?"
   "Surely we aren't going to that awful Goon, are we?" asked Bets anxiously.
   "Goon?" said Fatty scornfully. "All he'd have done so far by way of investigation is leave his flat-footed prints all over that nice clean carpet! I was thinking of phoning Superintendent Jenks."
   "Oh, do let's," said Bets joyfully. She was very fond of the 'high-up policeman', as she called him.
   So off they went to report yet another mystery that had been cleverly solved by the Find-Outers -- this time, without even old Fatty's help, thought a delighted Pip!

   #

   "Yes sir, it's about this morning's little robbery," said Fatty into the phone. "I think the Find-Outers have managed to crack another case, in record time too. Do you think you can come over? You can arrest the culprit rightaway."
   The receiver made encouraging squawking noises.
   "Tell him how we suspect the paper boy, Fatty" hissed Larry, but Fatty took no notice.
   "All right; we'll meet at my home and we can all go to the Appleby Mansion on Christmas Hill," said Fatty and hung up.
   "Idiot!" said Pip. "Whatever made you invite the Super to the Appleby place? Billy is already angry with us. Besides, Jimmy -- the paper boy -- lives at the other end of town."
   "What paper boy?" Asked Fatty with irritating blandness. "Oh, that paper boy. No, we shan't be needing him."
   "What do you mean, Fatty?" asked Daisy, who had been carefully watching the smug way Fatty was handling things.
   Bets let out a sudden wail. "I believe we were wrong after all! Fatty had another suspect all along... hadn't you, Fatty?"
   Fatty only grinned in response.
   "I think I hear the Super's car," said Larry at last, a little annoyed at Fatty's steadfast refusal to say anything more about the case.

   #

   "Well, well, well," said the Superintendent, smiling broadly and letting Bets swing on his arm. "Have the Find-Outers indeed solved the case of the missing jewels?"
   "We haven't exactly recovered the jewellery, but we know where the burglar is. He isn't going anywhere in a hurry," said Fatty.
   "Whom do you suspect?" asked the Superintendent curiously. "Young William Appleby, I suppose. I could have told Goon that, but I didn't have any evidence to go by. "
   Pip and Larry merely gaped at him.
   "I also heard Goon talk of taking the paper boy into custody, though he's clearly underage," Superintendent Jenks continued. "The things that policeman gets up to! Surely you didn't suspect the poor kid?"
   "No, of course not," said Fatty, while the other Find-Outers went a decidedly peculiar shade of red.
   "So how did he do it, Fatty? Tell us!" said Bets, tiring of the pretence.
   "Well," began Fatty earnestly, "Breaking the window with the ball was indeed an accident. But sitting on the wall, Billy was the only one who could see into the bedroom. Since the noise hadn't caused any commotion, he guessed the house was uninhabited and saw the chance for a spot of burglary."
   "He may even have noticed the unclaimed milk and post when he went by earlier," exclaimed Pip.
   Fatty frowned at the interruption.
   "Anyway, he made up a nice little story about the ransacked bedroom, sent Gordon to get Goon, and asked Tom to come the long way round to the front of the house. In the meantime he leaped off the wall into the garden, dashed around to the porch, tore a sheet of paper from the newspaper lying there and used it to wipe tell-tale mudstains from his hands and feet."
   "That explains the dirty sheet of paper we saw," said Daisy. "But we also saw the newspaper lying on the porch!"
   "Billy was clever," Fatty went on, "He made sure he rolled the rest of the newspaper up and left it on the doorstep so it wouldn't arouse suspicion. He then dashed back to the broken bedroom window, undid the latch, and leapt in. He hurriedly rifled through the drawers and pocketed whatever valuables he could find."
   "Now wait a minute," said the Superintendent. "That shows carelessness. He must have known he'd leave fingerprints, surely?"
   "He couldn't leave any prints -- he was wearing gloves. And since he wiped his feet, there were no footprints on the carpet either!" put in Bets triumphantly.
   "Yes," said Fatty. "He wasn't worried about leaving fingerprints because he was wearing goalkeeper's gloves. But in his haste, he upset a drawer over the broken glass, which gave the game away! Naturally, if the burglary had occurred before the window was smashed, one wouldn't expect to see shards of glass under the drawer."
   Pip and Larry continued to gape.
   "That's all there is to it," said Fatty. "Burglary done, Billy jumped out of the bedroom window, secured the latch, and met the others at the front gate. All this wouldn't have taken him more than two or three minutes."
   "That's cutting it fine," mused the Superintendent. Wasn't he afraid you'd catch him?"
   "Well, no," said Larry, remembering how long it had taken them to walk across the field, through the alley, and down the street to find the house. Quite clearly, Billy had had ample time to commit the crime.
   "What about the other window that was left open?" asked Pip sulkily. He was more than a little disgruntled at seeing his precious deductions go down the drain.
   "I think Billy left the little window ajar on purpose, to take suspicion away from him -- and possibly to implicate the paper boy," explained Fatty.
   "He very nearly succeeded," said the Superintendent grimly. "I'll have a few things to say to the lad. The police know something you don't -- he's been in trouble before, and sent to a young offender institution once. It looks as if he'll be going back there for a longer spell."
   A thought struck the Superintendent. "Did you say Billy pretended to be cooperating with Goon?"
   "Yes, sir," said Fatty. "Mr Goon seemed to be... er, well... taken in. I believe it was Billy who set him off in pursuit of the paper boy."
   The other Find-Outers couldn't help smiling. Poor Goon -- he always seemed to get in a muddle. Ah, and so what if they didn't quite solve the mystery without Fatty? They did come close, didn't they?

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