Mystery #04 — The Mystery of the Spiteful Letters

‘Let’s go and ask Mother,’ said Bets. So they went down to the study. But their mother was not there. They were just turning to go out when Pip’s sharp eyes caught sight of something lying under a chair. He picked it up.

It was a large black woollen glove. He stared at it, trying to remember who wore black woollen gloves.

‘Whose is it?’ asked Bets. ‘Look - isn’t that a name inside?’

Pip looked - and the name he saw there made him stare hard. On a little tab was printed in marking ink, five letters: ‘T. GOON.’

‘T. Goon! Theophilus Goon!’ said Pip, in surprise. ‘Golly! What was old Clear-Orf here for today? He came here and sat in this study, and left a glove behind. No wonder Mother said she had important things to do if she had old Clear-Orf coming for a meeting! But why did he come?’

Bets burst into a loud wail. ‘He’s taken Gladys to prison! I know he has! Gladys has gone to prison, and I did like her so much.’

‘Shut up, idiot!’ said Pip. ‘Mother will hear you.’

Mrs. Hilton came quickly into the study, thinking that Bets must surely have hurt herself. ‘What’s the matter dear?’ she asked.

‘Mother! Mr. Goon’s taken Gladys to prison, hasn’t he?’ wept Bets. ‘But I’m sure she didn’t steal or anything. I’m sure she didn’t. She was n-n-n-nice!’

‘Bets, don’t be silly,’ said her mother. ‘Of course Mr. Goon hasn’t done anything of the sort.’

‘Well, why was he here then?’ demanded Pip.

‘How do you know he was?’ said his mother.

‘Because of this,’ said Pip, and he held out the large woollen glove. ‘That’s Mr. Goon’s glove. So we know he has been here in the study - and as Gladys is gone we feel pretty certain Mr. Goon’s had something to do with her going.’

‘Well, he hasn’t,’ said Mrs. Hilton. ‘She was very upset about something today and I let her go home to her aunt.’

‘Oh,’ said Pip. ‘Then why did Mr. Goon come to see you, Mother?’

‘Really, Pip, it’s no business of yours,’ said his mother, quite crossly. ‘I don’t want you prying into it either. I know you all fancy yourselves as detectives, but this is nothing whatever to do with you, and I’m not going to have you mixed up in any of your so-called mysteries again.’

‘Oh - is there a mystery then?’ said Bets. ‘And is old Clear-Orf trying to solve it? Oh Mother, you might tell us, you might!’

‘It’s nothing whatever to do with you,’ said Mrs. Hilton firmly. ‘Your father and I have discussed something with Mr. Goon, that’s all.’

‘Has he been complaining about us? ’ asked Pip.

‘No, for a wonder he hasn’t,’ said his mother. ‘Stop howling, Bets. There’s nothing to wail about.’

Bets dried her eyes. ‘Why did Gladys go?’ she said. ‘I want her to come back.’

‘Well, maybe she will,’ said her mother. ‘I can’t tell you why she went, except that she was upset about something, that’s all. It’s her own private business.’

Mrs. Hilton went out of the room. Pip looked at Bets, and slipped his hand into the enormous black glove. ‘Golly, what a giant of a hand old Clear-Orf must have,’ he said. ‘I do wonder why he was here, Bets. It was something to do with Gladys, I’m certain.’

‘Let’s go up and tell Fatty,’ said Bets. ‘He’ll know what to do. Why is everything being kept such a secret? And oh, I do hate to think of Clear-Orf sitting here talking with Mother, and grinning to think we were not to know anything about it!’

They couldn’t go up to Fatty’s that evening, because Mrs. Hilton suddenly decided she wanted to wash their hair. ‘But mine’s quite clean,’ protested Pip.

‘It looks absolutely black,’ said his mother. ‘What have you been doing to it to-day, Pip? Standing on your head in a heap of soot, or something?’

‘Can’t we have our heads washed tomorrow night?’ said Bets. But it wasn’t a bit of good. It had to be then and there. So it wasn’t until the next day that Pip and Bets were able to see Fatty. He was at Larry’s, of course, because they had all arranged to meet there.

‘I say,’ began Pip, ‘a funny thing’s happened at our house. Old Clear-Orf went there yesterday to see my father and mother about something so mysterious that nobody will tell us what it was! And Gladys, our nice housemaid, has gone home, and we can’t find out exactly why. And look - here’s a glove Goon left behind.’

Every one examined it. ‘It might be a valuable clue,’ said Bets.

‘Idiot!’ said Pip. ‘I keep telling you you can’t have clues before you’ve got a mystery to solve. Besides, how could Goon’s glove be a clue! You’re a baby.’

‘Well - it was a clue to his presence there in your study yesterday,’ said Fatty, seeing Bets’ eyes fill with tears. ‘But I say - it’s all a bit funny, isn’t it? Do you think Goon is on to some mystery we haven’t heard about, but which your mother and father know of, Pip, and don’t want us to be mixed up in? I know that your parents weren’t very pleased at that adventure we had in the Christmas hols. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if there isn’t something going on that we children are to be kept out of!’