Madame Bearsaud would put statues of Billy, Bobby, and Bert Bogg, three local-yokel criminals, in her world-famous museum?â
âNow that you mention it, it does seem a little odd,â said Fred. Then his eyes widened in the semi-darkness. âYou mean â¦â
âThatâs right,â said Brother. âThose arenât statues. Those are the real live Bogg Brothers pretending to be statues â¦â
The last words out of Brotherâs mouth before the Bogg Brothers grabbed him and Fred and covered their mouths were, âHelp, Chief!â
As if on cue, Chief Bruno burst into the room. âBack off or Iâll shoot!â he cried. His pistol was pointing at Billy, the head Bogg.
âOkay, Chief, you got us,â said Billy, putting up his hands. Bobby and Bert did likewise.
âAll right, you three!â barked the chief. âEmpty your pockets!â
Out of Bert Boggâs pocket came Queen Elizabearâs pearl earrings and a ruby-encrusted bracelet. Out of Bobby Boggâs pocket came Queen Elizabearâs beautiful pearl necklace. And out of Billy Boggâs pocket came ⦠nothing.
âTurn around!â ordered the chief.
Billy Bogg turned his back to Chief Bruno.
âWell, well,â said the chief. âFirst time I ever noticed that your backside is shaped like a crown. Come on, out with it!â
Billy pulled the crown from his pants and glared at Chief Bruno. Keeping his pistol trained on Billy, the chief turned to the cubs and said, âWhile I donât like to see cubs messing around with dangerous criminals, Iâll say this: as a policebear and as a citizen, it does my heart good to know weâve caught the three Bogg Brothers red-handed.â
âWould you like to try for four?â came a voice from the rear. It was Officer Marguerite. She was standing in the rear exit with Igor, who was in handcuffs. And she was holding his ill-gotten gains: Lady Grizzlyâs priceless necklace.
âFour what?â asked Chief Bruno.
âFour Bogg Brothers,â Marguerite answered. âFound him in the getaway car with the motor running.â
Chief Bruno and the cubs took a good look at Igor. He was no longer shambling and bent over. And though he was taller, slimmer, and better looking than Billy, Bobby, and Bert, he looked every inch a Bogg.
âIs this guy your brother?â Chief Bruno asked Billy Bogg.
âYep,â said Billy. âAs much as I hate to admit it, heâs our brother Buster. Sort of the black sheep of the family. He went and became an international jewel thief.â He shook his head sadly. âDonât know where we went wrong with that one.â
âOkay, Marguerite,â said the chief. âCuff the rest of âem and get them all into the police wagon.â
âYou know, Fred,â said Brother as the Boggs were led out in handcuffs, âif Iâd realized why Igor looked so familiarâjust like a Bogg brotherâIâd have known that those workbears were the Bogg Brothers and prevented this whole mess from happening.â
âTrue,â said Fred. âBut think of it this way: one cubâs mess is another cubâs Great Adventure.â
Brother smiled and nodded.
âHey,â said Fred, âletâs go get some of that leftover food. Iâm hungry.â
Chapter 13
Downhill Summer
It turned out that Chief Bruno had been on the lookout for jewel thieves the moment heâd heard about Lady Grizzlyâs plan to wear her diamond necklace to the grand opening of Madame Bearsaudâs. But he never for a minute suspected Madame Bearsaudâs assistant, Igor. And neither had Madame Bearsaud.
For years afterward, the grand madame was too embarrassed to tell anyone how Buster Bogg had fooled her into believing he was âIgorâ from faraway Grizzylvania. But Beartown folks understood how it could have happened when they read the