"I don't even know where the key's kept now," said Luke.
"I usually have it in my pocket, except on the days when I go out," said Miss Harmer. "Then I give the key to Tupping. What do you do with it, Tupping?"
"I keep it in my pocket, too," said Tupping. "But I left my coat along here somewhere this afternoon, so Luke could easily have got at the key. Mark my words, Dark Queen is hidden somewhere about, ready for somebody to fetch away! I knew you'd be sorry, Madam, if you took that boy back again. Stands to reason something of this sort will happen if you do that I said many a time to Mr. Goon "
"I am not interested in what you say to Mr. Goon," said Lady Candling. "I think we will go over Mr. Goon's head this time and get in touch with Inspector Jenks immediately."
The children were simply delighted to hear this; but, alas, the good Inspector was away, so Mr. Goon had to be notified, and arrived, full of importance, to look for clues and to hear what everyone had to say.
He looked suspiciously at the five children. Then he looked at the cages as if he expected to find a whole lot of dues there again. But there was nothing to see except the whistle which Lady Candling had given him.
"You found any dues this time?" said Clear-Orf to Fatty.
"We've only found a smell and a stone with paint on it," said Bets. The others frowned at her so suddenly and severely that she nearly ran away.
"A smell?" said Mr. Goon disbelievingly. "And a stone with paint on? Ho! so you think you can trick me again, do you with smells and stones this time!"
With that Mr. Goon turned his back on the children, who at once went to the wall, climbed over it, and sat down to talk about this new happening.
"Bets! Of all the IDIOTS!" said Pip. "You deserve to be spanked. Fancy telling Clear-Orf our own dues! Are you quite mad?"
"I must be," said Bets, almost in tears. "I can't think why I said it."
"Never mind, Bets," said Fatty comfortingly. "Just because you told him, he won't believe you so if they are clues, it won't matter. Cheer up!"
"It really is a most extraordinary mystery," said Daisy.
Buster really has got Brains
"It looks as if all those things had to be like that before the cat could be stolen," said Daisy.
"It's no good suspecting anyone but Luke this time," said Larry. "The cat was there at three o'clock, because both Tupping and Lady Candling saw it; and Luke was by the cat-house from three until Miss Harmer returned, and then she and Tupping go into the cage and find Dark Queen missing."
"And Luke says, as he said last time, that no one went near" the cage except himself, all that time," said Pip. "Well, I simply do not see how Dark Queen could have been stolen."
Everyone was silent. Again it seemed an absolutely mystifying problem with no solution at all except that Luke was a very stupid and untruthful thief. But not one of the children could believe that.
The children stayed talking until it was Bets' bed-time. Then they said good-bye and got up to go home.
"Meet here again tomorrow," said Fatty in a gloomy voice. "Not that we can do much. We'll all think hard in bed tonight and see if we can possibly find some way out of this problem."
Nobody had got any good idea when they met the next morning except Bets. And she hardly liked to mention her idea, because she thought the others would laugh at it.
"Anyone got anything to say?" asked Fatty.
"Well," said Bets, "I did get a sort of an idea about one of our clues."
"What?" said Fatty.
"You know that smell we smelt turpentine," said Bets. "It was in the cage this time, and last time too. It must mean something it must belong to the mystery somehow, mustn't it? So it must be a real clue, and we ought to follow it up."
"How?" said Pip, rather scornfully.
"Well, we could go and hunt about next door to find where the bottle of turps is kept or something like that," said Bets. "I don't say it will help; but after all, if it's a clue, we might find out something."
"Bets is right," said Fatty. "She really is. We did smell turps both times and of course we ought to go and look to see if we can find where it's kept. Who knows, we might fine other clues then!"
"Let's go now, then," said Pip. "No time like the present! Come on. Look out for Tupping
though. He won't like us snooping about."
They all went over the wall again, leaving poor Buster in the shed. They sent Pip into the garden to see whereabouts Tupping was.
Pip came back and reported that he was tying up something near the house. "So we're safe for a bit," he said. "Come on. Let's sniff in the cage again, and see if the smell is still there. Then we'll go hunting for the stuff."
They all sniffed in the cage. The faint smell of turps still hung there. Miss Harmer came up as the children were sniffing. She did not seem very pleased to see them.
"I don't want anyone near the cat-house now," she said. "This disappearing of Dark Queen twice running is getting on my nerves. I'd rather you kept away, children."