The Case of the Exploding Plumbing

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Book: Read The Case of the Exploding Plumbing for Free Online
Authors: Donald J. Sobol
6½.” After each color and size was a check.
    “The check means I found my lunch for that day,” said Ziggy. “This is last week’s list.”
    “Then all we have to do is look at this week’s list,” said Sally.
    Ziggy shook his head. “I make up a new list on Monday. Last Monday I took sick with fever and had to quit early. I forgot about my lunch, and I don’t remember where I put the new list.”
    “Do you have a locker in the store?” asked Encyclopedia.
    “Downstairs,” said Ziggy. “Say, you’ve got the smarts! I remember now—I put this week’s list on the shelf.”
    He dashed off and returned waving a slip of paper. He showed it to Encyclopedia.
    The boy detective read: “Black 6, Black 6 ½, Tan 7 ¼, White 7 ¾, White 7 ½.” There wasn’t a check on the sheet.

    Ziggy dashed off and returned waving a slip of paper.
    “Black size six!” sang Ziggy. “It won’t take me long to get the salami sandwich now. You two better move before Mr. Wilson, the floor manager, finds you in here.”
    The detectives slipped onto the selling floor and waited for Ziggy by a rack of men’s ties.
    Presently Ziggy came out of the stock room. He walked toward the rack as if he were going to use a tie to hang himself.
    “I’ve looked through every box of size six black shoes,” he said. “No salami sandwich. I must have been sicker than I thought when I made up the list Monday. If Mr. Wilson finds my lunch in with a pair of shoes, I can start hunting for a new job.”
    “Don’t worry,” said Encyclopedia. “I know where to find the sandwich.”
     
    WHERE?
     
     
     
    (Turn to page 96 for the solution to The Case of the Salami Sandwich.)

Solution to The Case of the Runaway Elephant
    Mr. Hunt never paid for the elephant.
    He lied when he said Mr. Xippas refused to accept payment on Friday the thirteenth because it was bad luck.
    But what tripped him up was another lie. He said he had gone to the bank on April Fools’ Day and had drawn out the money to buy Jimbo. Impossible!
    Because it happened seventeen years ago, he thought he was safe. He had not reckoned on Encyclopedia.
    April Fool’s Day is April 1.
    As Encyclopedia knew, if in any month a Friday falls on the thirteenth, the first day of the month is Sunday.
    On Sundays banks are closed.

Solution to The Case of the Worn-Out Sayings
    Both Max and Bugs claimed to have written “ Alaska Times, p. 31” on the story about the contest.
    Since the writing was in block letters, Encyclopedia could not tell who was speaking the truth.
    But Bugs said he had first noticed the story about the contest on the last page of the newspaper. That was his mistake!
    The last page of a newspaper is never an odd number like 31. The last page is always an even number, like 30, or 18, or 42.
    Foiled again, Bugs gave back the clipping.
    Max entered the contest, tied for forty-third prize, and won a ballpoint pen.

Solution to The Case of the Skunk Ape
    Bugs got Officer Carlson to wait in Wilma’s house during the time Gus always practiced the cello.
    Meanwhile, Wilma dressed as the Skunk Ape and stole the cello case. Then she rubbed the costume with rotten eggs, stuffed it into the case, and left the case where it could be easily found.
    Bugs knew Gus would run to Encyclopedia for help. When the children found the cello case, Wilma was watching from her parked car. She drove up the driveway and then hurried toward the house in her tight skirt.
    Encyclopedia realized that she could not have just come home from playing the cello, as she claimed.
    A cello is held between the legs. A woman wears pants or a loose skirt—never a tight skirt—to play it!

Solution to The Case of the Counterfeit Bill
    Encyclopedia telephoned his father and told him about the counterfeit bill and the policeman.
    Chief Brown called the Glenn City chief of police. It was quickly discovered that one uniform and badge number 14 had been stolen from the police storeroom.
    The house was raided. A

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