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The Mystery on the Mississippi

The Mystery on the Mississippi

Titel: The Mystery on the Mississippi
Autoren: Julie Campbell
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I’m sorry,” Trixie said humbly.
    “You won’t be, when I’m through with my story. As I told you, we were pretty sure the gang led by Lontard was working south. By the way, his name isn’t Lontard at all. That’s one of his aliases. His real name is Diego Martinez. He encouraged the nickname ‘Frenchy’ to throw people off. But I’m digressing.
    “We had set up headquarters at that highway junction just below St. Peter, and we had channeled all telephone calls and information to our office there. When the manager of this motel relayed the message he had received about the old steamboat, we could act immediately, and we did. You know what happened from then on. The Coast Guard boats were waiting on the river nearby, motors running. In less time than I’m taking to tell you, we were at the old steamboat—and not one minute too soon. Thank heaven for that Bob-White whistle. Its shrillness paralyzed Lontard and the Aguileras till we could get a drop on them with our guns.”
    “Once again the boys had to rescue us!” Trixie said sadly. “All the Belden-Wheeler Agency did was to slow things down, wasn’t it?”
    “Not at all!Not at all!” Chief Ogilvie said briskly. “I can’t say I’d ever approve of international intrigue and politics as a game for young girls to play, but I’ll have to give your agency credit that is due. That stunt of yours, pushing that key under the door, was sheer genius. If you’ll forgive a pun, it was the key that unlocked everything—that and your recognition, in the first place, that the papers were significant.”
    Trixie’s blue eyes brightened. She sat up straight, listening.
    Honey was all ears, too.
    “Yes, sir, the papers you found in your room here were the first tangible clue we had to the operation of this gang. The map, which looked like a child’s drawing, was invaluable. Our department had known for a long time that heavy shipments of arms were being sent to countries in this hemisphere where there has been unrest. We couldn’t figure where they were being assembled or how they were being shipped. Thanks to the charts, the figures, and the cryptographical map, we have been able to solve a puzzling case.”
    Trixie looked exultantly at Honey. “Jeepers!”
    “Ah, but that isn’t all,” Chief Ogilvie continued. “There’s more?” Trixie asked excitedly.
    “Indeed there is. Lontard, or rather Martinez, really was trying to buy an old steamboat. It was an excellent cover for his scheme. He has assembled what probably will prove to be an appalling amount of arms and ammunition at the various places marked on the map. He’s used caves, abandoned houses—half a dozen different types of caches. He had expected to load the ammunition on the old steamer and float it to New Orleans, to be shipped from there to insurgent armies. It was a unique method of transportation. I wonder if it would ever have been discovered if it hadn’t been for the activity of you two girls. So, you see, we can’t be too severe in our criticism of your free-lance operations.”
    “I still say I’m terribly sorry about all the worry we’ve caused,” Trixie said. “I think your department is marvelous. I’m sure it would have turned up the Martinez gang long before they succeeded in getting that ammunition out of this country.”
    “That may be,” Chief Ogilvie said. “Right now our government isn’t too sure that you are right.” Trixie’s eyebrows went up, questioning.
    “That’s true,” Chief Ogilvie nodded. “After our investigation is completed, and after an appraisal has been made of the value of the arms that were being smuggled, you may be surprised. You see, the government rewards people who supply information leading to the capture of smugglers. Twenty-five percent of the tax that would have been realized on the smuggled goods will be coming to you girls. How does that sound?”
    “It sounds wonderful!” Trixie cried happily. “We’ll put it in the Bob-White fund for charity.”
    “What’ll we ever do with that much money?” Honey wondered in a dazed voice.
    Mart laughed. “Gleeps! That won’t take too much thinking. We have half a dozen places to put money. There’s always the United Nations Children’s Fund.”
    “And CARE,” Brian added.
    “Red Cross, the United Fund,” Dan suggested. Honey’s eyes shone like stars. “Do you know what I’d like most of all in the world? I remember pictures of little Vietnamese orphans I saw in a
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