The Case of the Slippery Salamander (6 page)

“T
hree down is a nine-letter word for a fraud or a faker,” Sally said to Encyclopedia.

The two detectives were working on the crossword puzzle in
The Idaville News
. Yesterday it had taken them only seven minutes and forty-two seconds to finish the puzzle. Today they were trying to beat their own record.

“That’s easy,” Encyclopedia replied. “ ‘Charlatan.’ ”

Sally wrote down the answer. “Speaking of a nine-letter word for a faker, Gwendolyn is having an auction today.”

“I heard,” Encyclopedia replied. “And since it’s
almost the Fourth of July, she’s auctioning off stuff that used to belong to U.S. presidents.”

“That’s what she claims, anyway,” Sally said in a disgusted tone.

Gwendolyn Harris was an eighth-grader who collected antiques. At least that was what she called the stuff that she picked out of people’s trash. About once a month Gwendolyn auctioned off the junk. Somehow she managed to trick people into thinking that her “antiques” were worth something.

Encyclopedia was reading the clue for sixteen across when two of his best pals, Benny Breslin and Charlie Stewart, burst into the garage.

“Guess what!” Benny said. He proudly held up a red bow tie. “I just bought a bow tie that used to belong to Harry S. Truman. I’m giving it to my mother for her birthday.”

Sally scowled. “Don’t tell me, let me guess—Gwendolyn said it’s an antique worth thousands of dollars.”

“Well, it’s not worth that much yet,” Benny informed her. “But Gwendolyn says that if my mom holds on to it for a few more years, it’ll pay for her retirement!”

Encyclopedia looked at Charlie. “I hope
you
didn’t buy anything from Gwendolyn,” he said.

“I sure did!” Charlie held up an old pair of black flip-flops. “I bought Ronald Reagan’s beach shoes. He used to wear them when he was governor of California.”

Benny finally noticed the suspicious looks on the detectives’ faces. “You think we’ve been conned?”

“Let me put it this way, Benny,” Encyclopedia said with a frown. “I have the feeling that bow tie is as genuine as a three-dollar bill.”

“Oh, no!” Benny moaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. “I can’t believe it! I can’t give my mom a phony bow tie for her birthday. You’ve got to help me and Charlie get our money back, Encyclopedia!”

“I’d like nothing more,” Encyclopedia informed his friends.

Fifteen minutes later, Encyclopedia and Sally arrived at Gwendolyn’s house. The Presidential Auction was still under way. A large group of kids and adults was gathered around the Harrises’ front porch. It was so hot, several of them stood under umbrellas or fanned themselves with sheets of paper.

Encyclopedia spotted Gwendolyn on the top step. She was holding up a plastic pink flamingo.

“Do I hear three dollars, folks?” she called. “Just three dollars for this pink plastic flamingo that Richard Milhous Nixon used to decorate the White House lawn.”

A boy raised his hand. “Three dollars,” he called.

“Five!” a lady up front shouted.

“I’ll give you ten,” a man chimed in.

“Going … going … gone!” Gwendolyn shouted. “The pink flamingo is sold to the man in the blue-and-white shirt.”

As the man raced over to get the flamingo, Sally clenched her teeth. “We’ve got to stop her, Encyclopedia,” she muttered. “This auction is a disgrace to our nation’s history.”

“I agree,” Encyclopedia replied. “I’m just waiting till she slips up somehow.”

In the next few minutes, Gwendolyn auctioned off a belt buckle that she said belonged to Thomas Jefferson, a Frisbee that she claimed came from John F. Kennedy’s summer home on Cape Cod, and a plastic cup that Jimmy Carter had supposedly used as a container for peanuts.

Then Gwendolyn held up an old toothbrush.
Most of its bristles were missing. The ones that remained looked gray and dingy.

Gwendolyn smiled proudly. “I’ve been saving the best for last,” she told the crowd. “Believe it or not, this very ordinary, humble-looking toothbrush belonged to George Washington when he was President.”

Several people in the crowd gasped.

“Now that’s what I call a real antique!” a man declared. “I’ll give you fifty dollars for that, little lady.”

Gwendolyn beamed. “Do I hear one hundred dollars?” she asked.

“One hundred dollars!” someone shouted.

Sally elbowed Encyclopedia hard. “You’d better do something fast before Gwendolyn bankrupts this crowd!”

Encyclopedia was already on the move. He calmly stepped forward and held up his hand. “If you were president, you’d be impeached for lying, Gwendolyn. I don’t know who used to own that toothbrush, but it wasn’t George Washington.”

“Oh yeah?” Gwendolyn put her hands on her hips and loomed over Encyclopedia. “And what makes you a presidential scholar, Shorty?”

Encyclopedia looked Gwendolyn directly in the eye as he spoke. “I cannot tell a lie: You forgot
one important fact about the Father of our Country.”

What was Gwendolyn’s mistake?

(Turn to
this page
for the solution to The Case of the Presidential Auction.)

I
daville’s heat wave still hadn’t broken by the Fourth of July.

“It’s going to be another scorcher,” Chief Brown said when Encyclopedia came down for breakfast.

“I’ll say,” Encyclopedia agreed. Looking out the window, he could see that the thermometer near the garage already read seventy-eight degrees.

After breakfast, the phone rang. It was Encyclopedia’s pal Benny Breslin.

“Guess what, Encyclopedia!” Benny said excitedly. “I got a new surfboard yesterday. Want to come to the beach with me and try it out?”

It was an invitation that Encyclopedia couldn’t refuse. “You bet,” he told Benny.

“Good,” Benny replied. “My cousins and I will be there in thirty minutes.”

Encyclopedia wasn’t thrilled to hear that Benny’s two cousins were coming along. He had met Todd and Garth before. Neither of them was what you’d call a quick thinker.

“Mom, is it okay if I go to the beach with Benny and his cousins?” Encyclopedia asked.

“Of course, dear,” Mrs. Brown said. “Just make sure to be back by two o’clock—you have a dentist appointment this afternoon.”

Encyclopedia quickly changed into his swim trunks and raced to meet Benny and his cousins.

When the four boys reached the beach, only a few other swimmers and surfers were there. The boys locked up their bikes, then dropped their towels near some scraggly pine trees along the dunes. Since it was still early, the trees cast plenty of shade.

“Nice surfboard,” Encyclopedia said, taking a closer look at Benny’s new board. It was bright yellow with a picture of a surfer riding the crest of a big wave.

“Thanks,” Benny replied proudly. “I can’t wait to try it out. It has—”

Before Benny could finish, Garth reached down and grabbed the board.

“Catch you later, Benny,” Todd yelled as he raced toward the ocean after his brother.

“Hey!” Benny yelled after his cousins. “I didn’t say you could try it first!”

Neither Garth nor Todd looked back. Instead, when they reached the ocean, Garth tossed the board into the water, then swam out after it.

“Get back here with my board, Garth!” Benny cried.

Encyclopedia waved his arms, trying to get the boys’ attention. But it was no use.

Finally a lifeguard Benny knew noticed the commotion.

“Need some help, Benny?” he asked.

Benny nodded. “My cousins took my new board before I had a chance to try it myself.”

“Todd and Garth?” The lifeguard sighed. “Those two have been causing trouble at the beach all summer. I’ll get your board back for you.” He blew two loud blasts on his whistle.

Garth and Todd hurried out of the water.

“What’s up, Dave?” Garth asked.

The muscular lifeguard glared down at him. “Give Benny back his board.”

“We were just goofing around,” Todd said.

“Give it back now, or I’ll make sure this is your last day on the beach!” the lifeguard growled.

Without another word, Garth handed over the surfboard.

“Thanks,” Benny said to the lifeguard. He ignored the furious looks that both Todd and Garth were shooting his way. Then he and Encyclopedia raced down to the water.

For the next hour, they had a great time riding the waves to shore. Encyclopedia didn’t think about Todd and Garth again until he and Benny headed up the beach toward their towels.

“Your cousins seemed pretty mad at you before,” Encyclopedia said.

“So?” Benny shrugged it off. “They’ll get over it fast—if they want to try my new board again.”

Encyclopedia wasn’t so sure that Benny’s cousins would forget about the lifeguard’s yelling at them. But to his relief, Todd and Garth were both sound asleep on their towels.

Benny and Encyclopedia dried off, then dropped onto their towels too. Encyclopedia checked his watch. It was only a few minutes before noon. He didn’t have to be home for another two hours.

Encyclopedia decided to take a nap as well. As he lay down, he could feel the sun warming him. A
breeze blew off the ocean. He was just about to drift off when a sound jolted him awake.

“ZZZZZZzzzzzz … ZZZZZZzzzzzz …”

Encyclopedia groaned. When Benny fell asleep on his back, he snored louder than a chain saw at full throttle.

Encyclopedia poked Benny. “Wake up, Benny. You’re snoring!”

Benny grunted, then rolled onto his side. Glad to have some peace and quiet, Encyclopedia closed his eyes and dozed off.

But twenty minutes later, another sound woke him.

“Encyclopedia! My board is gone!”

Encyclopedia’s eyes flew open.

“I left my surfboard right there!” Benny exclaimed, pointing to the sand in front of him.

Encyclopedia sat up, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the bright midday sunlight. “Where are Todd and Garth?” he asked, looking around.

Todd and Garth’s towels were still on the beach, but the boys themselves were nowhere in sight.

“I don’t know,” Benny muttered. “They disappeared.”

Just then Todd and Garth raced up from behind the dunes.

Benny scowled at them. “Where’s my board?” he demanded.

“Oh, man, Benny!” Todd said. “Somebody stole it while you were sleeping!”

“Yeah,” Garth said. “When I woke up a few minutes ago, there was a huge shadow coming from behind that tree. I pretended that I was still asleep, and I saw someone grab your board and take off.”

“We chased him all the way to the parking lot,” Todd added. “But he jumped into his car and drove away before we could get your board back for you.”

“That’s tough, Benny,” Garth said in a sympathetic voice. “Your board was real nice.”

Encyclopedia checked his watch again. “Did you say you saw a huge shadow?” he asked Garth.

Garth nodded. “That’s right. The thief was hiding behind that tree, making sure we were all asleep before he stole the board.”

Benny sank onto his towel. He looked miserable. “I saved my allowance for six whole months so I could afford to buy that board,” he said. “Now I’m never going to get it back!”