Swindled!: The 1906 Journal of Fitz Morgan Read Online Free Page B

boss.”

    Mr. Spike was a bald, round–faced man who wore a uniform similar to William Henry’s. But this man’s thick neck bulged over
     the sides of his collar.
    “And”–William Henry gestured to a distinguished–looking man with a closely cropped white beard and perfectly round glasses–”may
     I present Dr. Sigmund Freud?”
    I felt my heart leap. Dr. Freud! THE Dr. Sigmund Freud was standing two feet away from me!
    Austrian to Amaze at Lecture
    Straight from BVienna. Dr. Sigmund Freud will give a lecture tonight on something he calls “psycho-analysis.” Come hear Dr. Freud’s strange new ideas about the unconscious mind, listen as he interprets dreams, and discover the origins of mental illness in childhood events! His talk promises to be quite exciting.
    Los Angeles is the last stop on Dr. Freud’s American lecture circuit. You will not want to miss this unique opportunity.

    Dr. Sigmund Freud
    Masonic Hall, 7:00 PM.
    Judge tore out this ad from a magazine for me
     
    I started to explain quickly. “Dr. Freud, this man is a government agent. And he’s been pois–”
    But I was interrupted by Mr. Spike, who waved a finger in my face. “Children,” he said in a syrupy voice, and from the very
     first syllable I knew that he was a talker-downer. Talker-downers can’t stop themselves from talking down to every child they
     meet.
    Mr. Spike said, “I’ve got a son myself, and so I know youngsters have a way of making far too much of things.” I wanted to
     say that I felt sorry for his son, but didn’t.
    “William Henry tells me you believe this man has been poisoned? That’s just preposterous. And such talk, even from children,
     could cause panic on the train. We have a schedule to keep. This man probably just ate too much bacon at breakfast. Our job
     is to take care of him and his stomachache. Your job is to be good children.”

    This is insane! I thought. Agent Howard didn’t have a “stomachache”!
    “That’s not–,” I started to protest, but Mr. Spike cut me off again, this time by turning his back to me and addressing Judge.
    “Miss Justine,” he said coldly, “I’d hate to have to tell your parents that you are really not mature enough to ride this
     train by yourself.”
    I saw Judge’s whole body tense at the threat, and she glared at Mr. Spike. But she kept her mouth closed. Seeing that he had
     silenced both Judge and me, Mr. Spike gave us an icy smile and left the compartment.
    William Henry looked at us. “All right, you two,” he said.
    “You heard Mr. Spike. Into the laboratory compartment with you.”
    Seeing Dr. Freud remove a needle from his bag and turn toward Agent Howard, William Henry practically pushed us along.
    Even though Judge and I were banished to the laboratory compartment, I felt better knowing that Agent Howard was in the capable
     hands of Dr. Freud. He would know what to do.

    Judge sighed. “It looks like we’re going to miss all the fun.”
    I didn’t agree. “We need to get a look at the scene of the crime.”
    “Agent Howard’s Pullman. What a fantastic idea!” Judge cried. Then she grinned and said in a fake sugary voice, “But aren’t
     you worried about Mr. Spike? He told us to be ‘good little children.’”
    “Yes, he did,” I answered. “But I think the definition of ‘good’ is doing the right thing, and that means getting to the truth.”
    “I couldn’t agree more,” Judge said. “Let’s go!”
    We opened the door that led from the laboratory to the semi-public hallway. Suddenly Judge whispered, “Wait a second,” and
     rushed back into the laboratory. She returned moments later carrying a small black case. “A kit for collecting evidence,”
     she explained.
    “Good thinking,” I said and thought to myself that it looked like Justine was going to turn out to be a good investigative
     partner.
    We were continuing down the hall when Judge suddenly stopped in her tracks. “Fitz, I guess you triggered more than