Part 10 (1/2)
”I don't think we need one,” said Jupe. ”All those words probably end in X, as Bob said. But most of those words translate easily into plain English. The message can be read DOCKS ROCKS KNOCKS EX WRECKS BOX.” He printed the decoded message for them on Bob's pad.
”Great,” said Pete. ”What's that supposed to mean?”
”I'm not sure,” said Jupe, ”but I'm getting an idea.” He straightened up excitedly.
”I think ROCKS is the important word. Olsen said something was half a million dollars, and then he said that was a lot of rocks. Does that suggest anything to you?”
”Half a million dollars worth of rocks?” asked Pete. ”Rocks out of the ground?
How's that possible? I mean, who'd want it?”
” 'Rocks' has another meaning, Pete,” Jupe said. ”It's also slang for 'money'.
Olsen and Dobbsie are looking for money! Half a million dollars! My guess is that Olsen and Dobbsie are involved in some crooked scheme. They sound like gangsters, and that much money sounds like somebody's loot!”
”That's quite a guess,” said Bob dubiously. ”But even if that's true, what's the rest of the message supposed to mean?”
Jupe frowned. ”I don't know, Bob. Apparently it tells where to find the money.
Maybe the rest of the conversation will give us some clues.”
”What about that part about wrapping them both up?” Pete asked. ”Who's he talking about?”
Bob read from his notes. ” 'If we can find the rocks first, we'll wrap them both up.' ”
Jupe shook his head. ”They spoke about one man first. They said, 'Why don't we move in on him?' Then later Hatchet-Face said, 'He'll give us an opening. Somebody got careless tonight.' ”
”Who?” asked Pete.
Bob looked over his notes. ”If being careless refers to letting the gorilla out, they think Eastland might have done it.”
Jupe scowled. ”I don't see why he would take such a risk. It's true that according to the agreement Jim Hall would have to pay Eastland fifty thousand dollars as forfeit for an accident. But I don't think Eastland would be foolish enough to take such a chance. That gorilla was dangerous! I'd sooner believe that Hank Morton was being spiteful again.”
”Fine, but that has nothing to do with rocks,” said Bob. ”We're not getting anywhere.”
Jupe tapped his fingers on the desk and thought awhile. ”We're forgetting the first thing we ever learned about Olsen,” he said finally. ”He came here to the junkyard and wanted to buy cages. Then tonight he seemed to refer to me and the cages.” Jupe winced as he remembered Olsen's calling him ”the fat kid”.
”Maybe he thinks he'll find his rocks in cages,” said Pete sarcastically.
”Don't laugh,” said Jupe. ”Look! BOX in the cable might mean cage! WRECKS BOX means pull apart the cage and you'll find the money!”
”Your cages are already wrecked,” objected Pete, ”and Olsen didn't seem to think they were very valuable. He only offered you twenty dollars.”
”True, true,” said Jupe. ”I can't explain that. But perhaps Olsen's really looking for another cage.”
”Sure. In the sc.r.a.p yard. Blending right in with the cars,” said Pete. ”I think we're all tired and just going round in circles.”
Jupe stood up and stretched. ”You're probably right, Pete. I suggest we quit for tonight. We haven't come to any definite conclusions - but at least we're sure of one thing.”
”What's that?” asked Bob.
”We've got a mystery to solve,” said Jupe with satisfaction.
Chapter 14.
Bob Makes a Discovery THE NEXT MORNING Bob came downstairs to breakfast more puzzled than ever.
So much had happened the day before, and so little of it made any sense. He wondered if Jupiter wasn't grasping at straws in deducing the meaning of that crazy code.
Bob said good morning to his father, who grunted a reply from behind the morning newspaper. He was still on his first cup of coffee and obviously wasn't ready to talk to anyone yet. Bob looked around for something to read himself. He had read all the cereal boxes, so he turned to the stack of out-of-town newspapers lying on a nearby bookcase. His father, a newspaperman, frequently brought home papers from other parts of the country. He had explained to Bob that no one newspaper could carry all the news, and that he liked to see what stories other papers considered newsworthy.
Bob leafed idly through a paper, reading the comics and checking the headlines.
He picked up another, and an article caught his eye. It was a UPI dispatch from Koster, South Africa. It read: 79-YEAR-OLD OPENS AFRICA DIAMOND RUSH.
With a whoop belying his 79 years, Pieter Bester leaped into the air, s.n.a.t.c.hed his claim certificate, and took off running.
While 3,000 spectators cheered, he opened what could be the last official South African diamond rush, as 165 prospectors were turned loose Wednesday on the Swartrand alluvial diamond field.
Veteran prospector Hendrik Swanpoel, 72, who discovered the diamond field, had his usual luck. While staking out the first of his claims on the site, he unearthed a 48.12-carat diamond which he sold later for $42,000.
”I don't want to discourage anybody,” Swanpoel said with a grin, ”but I've already got most of the good stuff.”
The article went on to give details of the government-sponsored diamond rush.
The region was 75 miles northwest of Johannesburg, once known as the ”Land of the Diamonds”. In the uproarious boom days of 1927 and 1928, the article continued, 150,000 diggers scooped $28 million worth of high-quality gems from the Grasfontein and Bakerville diggings 50 miles west. The rules were, hopeful prospectors had their names put into a hat, and only the lucky ones whose names were drawn were permitted to the starting line. Each one was allowed three 45-square-yard claims.
Veterans of earlier rushes hired local athletes for the sprint, or after careful coaching, had their sons run for them.
”Gos.h.!.+” breathed Bob. ”Forty-two thousand dollars for one diamond! That's a lot of money!”
He turned the page and another news item caught his eye.
MAN INDICTED IN GEM CASE.
Porto Ferraro, a former a.s.sistant to the Minister of Mines in Koster, South Africa, was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday on charges of smuggling diamonds into the United States last year. He was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport.
Customs agents found on his person five packages of cut and polished diamonds weighing a total of 659.14 carats, with a retail value of about $750,000. The two-count indictment charges Ferraro with smuggling and with failing to pay duty. Each count carries a possible sentence of two years in jail and a fine of $5,000.
”Wow!” said Bob. He'd never known diamonds were worth that much money.
”What's that?” said his father, putting down his newspaper and taking a sip of coffee.
”I was just reading about diamonds,” explained Bob. ”It says here that a 48-carat diamond sold for $42,000. That's a lot of money! What is a carat, anyway?”
”Well, it's a unit of weight used for gem stones. It's divided into 100 points, just the way a dollar is divided into 100 cents. A one-point diamond is very small. A 100-point, or one carat, diamond is a pretty good size.”