Encyclopedia Brown Solves Them All Read Online Free

out all last night walking—where’s that maid? I’m starved. I want to eat and go to bed.”
    He had hardly spoken when Molly Haggerty entered the room. She was carrying a tray of food.
    She set a bowl of soup, a sandwich, and a glass of ice tea on the end table by Mr. Mackey.
    “Very nice, thank you,” mumbled Mr. Mackey, picking up the sandwich hungrily.
    Encyclopedia needed but a split second to see the clue.
    “Don’t eat!” he cried.
    An instant later Chief Brown understood, too. He caught Molly Haggerty as she tried to escape by the back door. He put her under arrest.
    “What’s this all about?” cried Mr. Mackey.
    “Miss Haggerty is a friend of the three gunmen who held up the gas station,” answered Encyclopedia.
    “H-how do you know?” gasped Mr. Mackey.
    HOW DID ENCYCLOPEDIA KNOW?
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    (Turn to page 91 for the solution to the Case of the Frightened Playboy.)

The Case of the Hair Driers
    Sally Kimball braked her bike to a skidding halt in front of the Brown Detective Agency.
    “Fire!” she shouted excitedly. “The Glade Theater is on fire! Come on!”
    Encyclopedia had never seen a theater burn. Since he was not working on a case, he closed the detective agency at once. He and Sally hopped on their bikes and rode quickly toward the center of town.
    “Golly, I hope nobody is hurt,” she said.
    “It’s only three o’clock,” said Encyclopedia. “The first show doesn’t start till five. The theater was probably empty when the fire started.”
    By the time they reached the theater, the fire had been put out. Most of the onlookers had moved away. The firemen were winding the hoses back on the fire engines.
    The partners hung around watching the work. At last all the equipment was back in place. The fire engines drove off. Officer Wilson blew his whistle, waved, and traffic moved down the street again.
    Encyclopedia and Sally walked their bikes on the sidewalk. In the middle of the block, Sally gave a gasp.
    “Encyclopedia!”
    A man had staggered from the alley between Mr. Albert’s Shoe Store and the Sunset Five-and-Dime. He held his hands to his head.
    It was Mr. Jorgens, who ran the beauty parlor on the comer, across the street from the theater.
    At first Encyclopedia thought he had been hurt in the fire. But Mr. Jorgens moaned, “I’ve been robbed!” He slumped against a lamp post. “I’ve been robbed.”
    The two children guided Mr. Jorgens back to his beauty parlor. It was empty except for Mrs. Jorgens, who helped her husband run the business.
    “I was slugged and robbed,” said Mr. Jorgens to his wife.
    Mrs. Jorgens gave a cry of fright. “Wh-who did it?”
    “I don’t know. That’s the mystery,” said Mr. Jorgens.
    Mrs. Jorgens ran to get a doctor. Encyclopedia sent Sally to fetch Officer Wilson from the comer.
    When Officer Wilson saw the lump on Mr. Jorgens’s head, his first question was, “Are you able to tell me what happened?”
    “I can talk,” said Mr. Jorgens. “But I can’t tell you very much. Somebody hit me from behind as I walked through the alley on the way to the bank. I never saw who it was.”
    “Do you usually go through the alley to get to the bank?” asked Officer Wilson.
    “Yes, it’s a shortcut,” said Mr. Jorgens. “How ever, I usually go on Fridays. I went today because I had more cash than I like to keep on hand.”

    The doctor examined Mr. Jorgens’s head and frowned.
    “Whom did you tell that you were going to the bank today instead of Friday?” asked Officer Wilson.
    “Only my wife,” replied Mr. Jorgens.
    At that moment Mrs. Jorgens returned with the doctor. He examined Mr. Jorgens’s head and frowned. “You had better come to the hospital. I want to take X rays,” he said.
    “Can I have another minute to question him?” asked Officer Wilson.
    “One minute,” said the doctor. “No more.”
    “You said the only person who knew you were going to the bank today was