The Case of the Racehorse Ringer Read Online Free Page B

was not locked. She opened it and stepped inside. The other two followed.
    “It’s very cosy,” said Wiggins.
    “And tidy,” added Sparrow.
    “You have to be tidy when this is all the space you have,” Gertie told him. “A place for everythin’ and everythin’ in its place. That’s what my ma used to say.” And indeed everything was in its place. There were two narrow beds, one on either side, which served as seats during the day. Between them was a small folding table and under them were cupboards and drawers. Everything was painted in bright colours and decorated with lots of flowers.
    “It’s just like that canal boat we went on to Limehouse,” Sparrow said. “’Cept this one ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
    Wiggins looked around carefully, in case there were any clues to be found. But he could not see anything that looked unusual.
    “Is anything missing?” he asked.
    Gertie shook her head. “Don’t think so. Wait a minute, though. If they was goin’ to take anythin’…” She opened a cupboard and looked inside. “No. Still there.”
    Inside the cupboard were a stopwatch, a pair of powerful binoculars and a notebook and pencil.
    “Spyglasses!” Wiggins exclaimed. “And good ones by the look of ’em. Where did your dad get these?”
    “This fella give ’em to him.”
    “The one who wanted him to time the horses?”
    “That’s right. Along with this stopwatch.”
    Wiggins picked up the binoculars. “Let’s see if they’re any good.” He stepped outside the caravan and held them up to his eyes. “Can’t tell. Too many trees.”
    “Come over here, then,” Gertie said, leading him to the edge of the woods. Here, the ground sloped steeply away, opening up a good view of the heathland below. Gertie pointed. “That’s the gallops, down there.”
    Wiggins raised the glasses again and looked through them.
    “Phew!” He let out a whistle. “You can’t half see everything. These must’ve cost a packet. Whatever this geezer’s up to, it’s gotta be worth a lot of money.”
    “Let’s have a look,” Sparrow begged. Wiggins handed over the binoculars and showed him how to focus the lenses. Sparrow scanned the heathland below them. “Cor!” he exclaimed with delight. “I can see every single blade of grass down there… Hello, what’s this?”
    A line of horses approached along the track from the stables, each ridden by a lad wearing riding breeches and a flat cap. Leading them, on a big chestnut horse, was a thin man in a tweed jacket.
    “That’s him,” said Gertie. “That’s Major Lee, the trainer.”
    “Why is he a major? He ain’t in the army, is he?”
    “My da said he used to be. But he broke his leg and had to retire. That’s when he bought the stables.”
    “I see,” Wiggins said. “Keep back in the trees, out of sight.”
    The three Boys watched as the riders, under the stern eye of the trainer, began to put the horses through their paces. One after another they trotted, cantered, then galloped. The last horse was easily the fastest – and the most beautiful, with a glossy black coat, a white blaze in the middle of his forehead and what looked like white socks on his front legs.
    “Ain’t he beautiful?” Gertie said. “Look at him go! That’s Silver Star. He’s the best racehorse in the country.”
    “I dare say,” said Wiggins. “Oh, look – they got company.”
    While the Boys had been looking at the horses they had not noticed a carriage approaching along the track. It stopped so that whoever was in it could watch the horses exercising. Wiggins stared at it and stiffened. He reached out and took the binoculars from Sparrow, then trained them on the carriage door.
    “Well I never…” he murmured. “Now, what’s
he
up to here?”
    “Who?” asked Sparrow.
    “Take a look.”
    Sparrow did. At first everything was blurred, but as he adjusted the powerful lenses a monogram came into sharp focus on the door of the carriage. It was a curly letter