ROB PEARCE-DETECTIVE

Northern Advocate, 7 November 1934, Page 2

ROB PEARCE-DETECTIVE

THE STOLEN PENS. L It was a drowsy afternoon, the only •;* sound,in the' classroom being the hum 7 of several insects that had flown through the open window and imprisoned themselves inside the large electric globe in the centre of the ceiling. Now and then the boys lookup and several counted the rotations of the shadowy speck-like bodies through the glass. Rob Pearce flnish- ; ed an algebraic problem and looked • across to his friend’s desk. Lionel Martin was finding more interest in the insects than in his work. • With head cocked to one side, he watched the fluttering of the small creatures as they circled round and ?: round. ■ , “I shall trust to yoUr honour not to • make a disturbance while I am absent,” came the voice of the ! teacher ‘ at his desk.' Mr Hiltop rose and left ; the room. After a reasonable time had elapsed ; for him to be well out of ear-shot, the ■ conversation broke, loose. “I bet that heavy-looking insect gets out next time round,” said Lionel, looking across at Rob. “Look, there he goes—he’s out!” Soon all eyes were on the globe, every boy picking one insect to beat the others to freedom. Suddenly Lionel let out a . cry of ?hge. “Who’s borrowed my fountainpen?” he roared. “Everybody knows I never lend it!” . “Mine’s gone, too!” cried Timothy Williams, a sallow-faced boy, whose complexion had* persuaded the form master to give him a seat by the win- ‘ dow. “And I only had a new gold nib put, into it last week!” “Why' don’t you look , for them?” asked Rob. “I suppose they’ve rolled on '.to the: floor somewhere.!’ , “Mine’s gone, too!’ 1 :, cried Ted Halsom;. probably the most unpopular boy in the, class. “I’m going -to report the matter. . There’s a thief here!” “L wouldn’t shout and bring the whole school here, if I were you!” cried' Rob angrily. “Listen, if any chap is hiding, those pens for a jokehand them over.” , Complete silence-: greeted this request, “Then there’s only one thing to be done,”, said Rob grimly. “We must let the three boys who have lost thier pens search every desk and ask everyone to turn out his pockets.” There, were indignant, outbursts at • first, but -eventually the boys agreed. “In case .the'three boys who have lost the pens, are playing a trick, I’ll search them!” grinned Rob. This he did, and ran through their desks thoroughly. l Five minutes of careful searching-f ; and still the pens were missing. “It's a. mystery,” said Rob,;.thought- , fully, “Nobody has left the room and there is not a. corner that hasn’t been looked into.” *Tm going to report the whole .thing!”- growled Timothy sullenly. . “Itoi not going to-let anyone get away with my pen.” . "Be quiet, can’t you!” growled Rob. !: “This is a matter that the head will : punish everyone for. We’ve got three ■. cricket matches doming off this month. ■ A thing like this and he might stop ‘ , the wholp three.” , “Good thing if he did!” exclaimed Ted Halsom sourly. » / .. Rob was suddenly struck by a •■strange fact. The missing pens belonged to three boys, all sitting close together.:.;The.thief must be some boy close beside them. He got up from his desk and strolled casually towards the window. So that he could think, he placed his arms' on the sill and stared i out. He turned the characters of various over in his mind, but could think of nobody but Timothy and .Ted i Who' would: think of doing such a thing;;: Timothy and Ted! Rob’s eyes < travelled along the wall of the sclioolW3om and rested on a waterpipe that i ran down to the ground. There had 1 been a long spell of dry weather and a i hole in the pipe had not been mended. Rob- reached out and found that it < would, be an easy matter’ to drop i something through the hole. It would £ fall into the barrell at the bottom into which the pipe led. , ' : “I- won’t be , long,” said Rob. “Perhaps 111 bring back the pens,” i “Why, have you found them?” ask- ‘ ed Timothy Williams, who had been watching him carefully. “I think so,” was the reply. “Where:, are you .going?” continued the boy . as Rob walked toward the door. ■ “You’ll get into trouble—• “You seem mighty anxious about something,” said Rob, stopping short “Yotfre very near that window, aren’t you?, Why did you take those pens—including your own so that you wouldn’t be. suspected?” why ” cried .Timothy, too infuriated to consider what he was i saying. “I did it to spite Lionel Mar- I tin and Ted* Halsom. I owe them a ! grudge, both of them. I intended to ' leave their pens in the barrel so that j they would rot when the rain came i on.” i

“We’ll deal with you when the class comes out!” said Rob grimly. “Here comes Hiltop. To begin with, your own pen shall be destroyed.”